The Best Kept Secrets
by Imogene Saxton
Summary: Chapter Twenty-six added. I know this isn't the way it once was, but I've changed so much in writing, interest, and lifestyle. I will try to bring this to a close for the enduring fans. I adore you all.
1. Why Does Setsuna Cry?

Setsuna turned her head slightly to the right, and regretted that simple movement for the rest of the night.  
  
Only out of the very corner of her eye did she see the three of them together. Serena, Rini, and Darien. Seeing them caused her to turn her head fully to the right and look at them. They stood together on the balcony, just outside the glass double doors. Setsuna supposed that they were gazing out at the river that ran by Michiru and Haruka's apartment building. The river looked very pretty at night, with all the lights from the buildings of Tokyo glimmering on it, the occasional party boat that would cruise by, all decked out with Christmas lights. The sight was very beautiful. Darien was holding Rini up, so she could see better, on his right side, and Serena leaned against his left. Everything was perfectly right with the situation, except everything was also completely wrong with it. She felt her eyes brim with tears.  
  
With this thought, the scene became far too painful. Setsuna stood from her seat at the party and muttered a half-assed "excuse me" as she passed the others. She hoped no one would really notice she was gone, but nonetheless she felt Haruka's eyes on her. This caused her to quicken her pace toward the powder room, away from the party, away from her friends, and away from Darien, Serena, and Rini. Setsuna grabbed the brass doorknob to the restroom and pulled the door open. As soon as she pulled the door shut behind her, Setsuna Meioh dissolved into tears. She took a few steps toward the edge of the bathtub and sat down on it, wiping delicately at her eyes, afraid to smear her makeup. She tried to hold back choking sobs, but the pain in her heart was too great. Setsuna's heart ached terribly. In all her years, she had never felt pain so bad as the pain she felt now.  
  
Setsuna had been living with a secret for a very long time. She did not dwell on it too much, but she did not simply forget about it, either. In another life, a future life, the secret was one that she and Darien shared. In this life, Setsuna carried the burden alone. She carried it well, though, for she rarely let the things that she knew bother her. Setsuna had come to this Christmas gathering at Michiru and Haruka's apartment with other thoughts, in fact. Thoughts that didn't have a thing to do with the secret. She had just happened to turn her head at the wrong time, and all the horrible thoughts and feelings that came with the secret flooded over her. Setsuna had been frozen in silence as the secret drummed full force in her mind with every beat of her heart, watching the future wife, future husband, and future daughter.  
  
There was a soft knock at the door, and Setsuna managed to choke out, "coming!" and she stood and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed with crying, and her mascara had smudged, anyway, despite her meager efforts to prevent it. She put a hand to her face as a sort of shield and she opened the door. Haruka was standing there, hands in the pockets of her khakis, a mildly concerned look on her face.  
  
"You all right, Suna?" Haruka asked, using her pet name for Setsuna.  
  
"Yes, yes," Setsuna answered quickly, waving her free hand toward Haruka. "I'm fine."  
  
Haruka looked at her skeptically. Setsuna's hand didn't hide the mascara tear lines very well. Haruka reached up and gently removed Setsuna's hand from her face. "Why are you crying?"  
  
Setsuna fumbled for an answer and missed by a mile or two. She could feel more tears coming up fast, and all of the sudden she just wanted to be as far away from here as she could be. She saw Mina peek into the hallway from the other room and glance confusedly at the two of them, and then her face disappeared. Great, Setsuna thought, now everyone will know. Knowing the fact just added to Setsuna's frustration and she spat out, "I can't tell you!" and began to cry again. "Please," she sobbed, "I just need to go home."  
  
Haruka looked at Setsuna, feeling quite sorry, but feeling even more perplexed. Here was Setsuna, who Haruka swore had been fine just a moment ago, standing in the hallway, crying her eyes out, and she couldn't tell anyone why. Setsuna looked like she needed a hug more than she needed to go home, but Haruka wasn't too good with comforting.  
  
"Are you sure you can't calm down a bit and come back?" Haruka suggested. "I can just tell them you have a headache and wanted to lie down."  
  
Setsuna looked at Haruka gratefully. "Would you?"  
  
Haruka smiled. "Sure thing. You can just go back there to Michiru's bedroom." Haruka watched Setsuna go, wiping her eyes and trying to stop crying. She watched until Setsuna disappeared into Michiru's room, shutting the door gently. Haruka's dark blue gaze remained on the door a moment longer, then she turned to leave and she felt something hit her legs. She let out a little gasp of surprise and looked down.  
  
"Chibiusa."  
  
Little Chibiusa smiled a tiny bit, then looked past Haruka's legs to where Setsuna has just gone. She looked up at Haruka. "Haruka... why does Luna P cry?"  
  
Haruka looked at Chibiusa for a moment, honestly perplexed. "Have you seen her this way before, Chibiusa?"  
  
Chibiusa waited a moment, and then nodded, a nervous expression on her face. "Only when I'm with Darien and Bunny..."  
  
Haruka turned her head around to look at the door to Michiru's room, and then back at Chibiusa. "Okay. She's fine. She just doesn't feel well." Haruka wasn't sure if the lie would pass over Chibiusa, but she seemed to buy it just fine. The two of them walked together, back to the party, Haruka with a more grim expression than she'd meant to have. Michiru looked up at Haruka curiously, hoping that she would look back and give her some kind of confirmation that Setsuna was all right, but Haruka just kept on walking. She went all the way to the balcony where Darien and Serena still stood together, watching the night. Setsuna loves watching the night, Haruka thought unconsciously. She reached up with a strong hand and pulled Darien by the shoulder. She pulled him down to her level (only a couple inches less) and whispered in his ear, "I think you need to talk to Setsuna." 


	2. These Things

Darien looked at Haruka for a moment like she was crazy, but he looked into her eyes and saw that she was completely serious. He also saw that she wouldn't let go of him unless he agreed to go. There wasn't any reason why he shouldn't, but he couldn't really think of a reason why he would need to talk to her. He loved talking to Setsuna, of course, who didn't? She was lovely, beautiful, elegant, graceful, and mature. She could talk about the things that Serena couldn't, which was one of the reasons why he had coffee with Setsuna every Monday morning, lunch with her every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and dinner the first Saturday of every month. Darien couldn't think of any time something had happened that either of them would've felt wronged over. Yet, he would talk to her. He loved her as a close friend, and if she needed him, he would go to her.  
  
"She's in Michiru's room."  
  
Darien looked to Serena, who was still enjoying the scenery, and said, "I'll be right back, Bunny."  
  
Serena stared at him for a moment and, almost immediately, she had a hunch that this was about Setsuna. She smiled passively and said, "okay," and watched for just a second as Haruka led Darien away. Secretly, she felt a bit angered and slightly jealous. She knew she shouldn't; Darien and Setsuna were obviously just friends and nothing more. However, sometimes Serena saw something else in Darien's eyes when he was looking at Setsuna than just friendly admiration. She saw this "something else" even more frequently in Setsuna's dark red gaze. Serena was a stubborn girl, and she would not admit noticing this, nor would she admit that she was jealous of their connection.  
  
Nothing had ever come of this, so Serena never really worried about it. Not really.  
  
Haruka pointed down the hall to the door of Michiru's room and watching Darien go. Then she went back into the living room and closed the double doors leading out to the hall. Haruka put a smile back on her face and enjoyed the party, which was good. She could think about what the hell was going on and still pretend that it was nothing.  
  
Darien raised his hand to knock softly on the door, but instead, he paused and listened. He could hear her sobbing in there, horrible, wretched sobs of a woman who feels like her heart must burst if she continues to cry alone. Something about that thought caused his brow to furrow in worry. Finally, he knocked gently and said, "Setsuna." He listened and decided she hadn't heard, or was choosing to ignore the knock. Quietly and slowly, Darien opened the door, stepped into the room, and shut the door.  
  
Setsuna lay almost sprawled across Michiru's big, white bed, one hand to her mouth, and the other laying uselessly next to her. She lay on her side, her hair spilling over the bed by her back. Moonlight came through the big window, casting its light upon her body, and she looked almost too divine to disturb. Other than the moonlight, the room was dark. The miserable sound of her heartbreaking sobs made him move toward the bed.  
  
Darien sat beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He whispered her name and saw her open her eyes. She sat up suddenly, obviously humiliated, yet she had said nothing yet.  
  
"It's all right, Setsuna," Darien assured her, and he held out his arms to her. Setsuna gladly went to him, and Darien held his dear friend very close. Setsuna continued to cry on his shoulder, but only for a few more minutes. By then, she was completely spent, and thought she couldn't cry anymore if she was being paid to do it. They shared a few moments of silence, and then Darien asked her, without letting go of her, "Can you tell me what's the matter, Setsuna? You cry like someone's broken your heart."  
  
"Someone has," she admitted, still sniffling.  
  
Darien was a bit surprised at this. He hadn't known that Setsuna had a boyfriend or a lover, and that wasn't something she would keep from him. They were close enough, so he thought, that they confided in each other even the deepest confessions. How unlike her, not to tell him about something like this.  
  
"You know that it will get better, Setsuna. You've gotten through these types of things very well be—"  
  
"It's not the same this time, Darien."  
  
The statement silenced them both. Darien drew back from her, holding her by the shoulders, and he looked at her. Mascara lines of tears streaked her pretty face, and tears sparkled in her eyes, which were bloodshot. Sadness etched her every fine feature. "Tell me," he urged.  
  
Setsuna looked down and away from him, biting her lower lip. She took a breath and opened her mouth to say something when Darien screamed, "Look out!"  
  
He pulled her down and used his body as a shield over hers just as the big glass window in Michiru's room shattered to pieces. 


	3. Don't be Ridiculous

Slowly, the two of them started to sit up, feeling the temperature in Michiru's room drop considerably as the insulation provided by the window was gone.

"Are you hurt?" Setsuna demanded.

"No, are you?" Darien replied quietly.

"I don't think so."

"Quiet, you two!" a voice trumpeted. A woman stood in the frame of the window, the cold winter air blowing in around her, ruffling her breast-length red hair. "I sense the power of the Silver Imperuim Crystals, here. If either of you have any knowledge of it, you had better show me where they are if you do not wish to be killed!"

Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "Never!" She growled. She took a moment to look the woman over; she was rather short and a bit too skinny, and her outfit consisted of layers of black and red ribbons crisscrossed over her body. There was a tattoo of some kind of design on one of her shoulders and a black star in the center of her forehead. Her red bangs blew around the star so much that you could only see it on the occasion that the wind would slow down a slight bit.

"That's fine," the woman laughed, raising her hand to them. "You don't need to live." Setsuna began to throw her hand in the air to scream, "Pluto Cosmic Power!" and Darien had been preparing to transform as well, and the woman's hand had started to glow with some sort of energy.

"Hold it right there!" A voice called out into the cold room.

The woman swung her head toward the door to Michiru's bedroom, looking very angry. "Who the hell do you think you are!"

"I am Sailor Moon!" Serena, now Sailor Moon, yelled. "And these are the Sailor Scouts! You'll have to face all of us if you want to try and fight my friends!"

The woman stared at them for a long time, all of the Sailor Scouts, backing Sailor Moon, all of them there to protect the man and the woman who knew something about the Silver Imperuim Crystals. She was outnumbered. Everyone was ready to fight her. She hadn't been counting on this. How could all of the goddamned Sailor Scouts just fucking _appear_ like that?!

"Damn you, Sailor Moon! I was warned about you, but I didn't think you'd show up here. That's fine, I'll retreat for now, but you haven't seen the last of me!" With this threat, the woman's image faded out.

"Setsuna, Darien!" Michiru called, working her way around the others and over to the bed. "Are you two all right?"

"We're fine, Michiru," Setsuna told her, smiling for the first time in awhile. Darien helped her off the bed.

Haruka, Lita, and Amy started surveying the damage. Raye stood in the frame of the window, looking out into the cold night. "Who was that girl? Any idea?"

"We have no way of knowing anything about her," Mina stated. "She didn't say her name or who she was working for. Usually, the enemy gives us some kind of lead like that."

Setsuna shook her head. "She had a star shape on her forehead. A black star shape."

"Like the Deathbusters?" Lita asked curiously, turned back to Setsuna. Setsuna nodded.

"We should all go home," Serena said slowly, "and start to research her. I noticed she had some sort of tattoo on her arm. Did you get it, Amy?"

"Yes," Amy confirmed. "I put on my VR Goggles just in time to catch what it looked like."

"Good," Haruka said. "Send the data to Luna and then to Setsuna's computer, Darien's, and mine. We can all work on this girl. If anybody gets any leads, send the information to everyone immediately."

"Right." Agreed Serena.

---

The group began to part ways. Darien was taking Serena and Rini home, Raye was taking Mina and Amy, and Lita and Setsuna would drive themselves.

Michiru and Haruka stood at the door to the apartment building, waving to everyone as they drove off. When the last car, Lita's, went on down the street, Michiru said, "What was it?"

"I don't know," Haruka answered mysteriously, hugging her chest as the cold wind blew against them. "I wish I could tell you. She acted so strangely; what, with all the tears." Neither of them seemed to have words for a moment. They were both truly baffled by what had happened tonight, and now they had to worry about replacing Michiru's huge window. Setsuna had tried to insist on paying for it, but Haruka would not hear it.

Michiru sighed. "I'm worried about her, Haruka."

Haruka had opened her mouth to comfort Michiru, but she could find no words of such. Instead, she said, "Me, too."

---

Rini was asleep in the backseat, and there was an uncomfortable silence between Serena and Darien. Serena stole glances toward him often as he drove them in his sleek, red sports car. Darien seemed lost in thought, _deep_ thought. Serena hadn't tried to strike up any conversation. They were almost to Juuban, the suburb where both of them lived. No good would come out of starting a conversation, now.

Curiosity was killing Serena by the time they pulled onto Serena's street, and she asked, "What did Setsuna need to talk to you about?"

Darien didn't answer her at first, and Serena thought, not without a sense of rejection, that he hadn't heard her. She started to pout when he said, "I don't know, Serena. Something is wrong, and I have a feeling it's a lot bigger than Setsuna herself."

He parked the car at the end of the driveway leading up to Serena's house, but didn't turn it off. The two of them got out, went around to the side, and Darien lifted the sleeping Rini into Serena's arms. Darien then kissed Serena gently on the lips. "Have a good night, Buns."

"I will, Darien," Serena promised happily. As she walked back up to her house, she silently cursed herself for thinking something was amiss between herself and Darien. _How foolish_, she thought, unlocking the door. _How could I be jealous of the nothing that was going on?_

Serena locked the door before going to the hallway, and then she pulled the dropdown door that lead to Rini's room. She carefully climbed the ladder while holding Rini to her chest, then placed her in bed when she reached the other side of the room. Serena began to undress Rini, then she just took her shoes off and started tucking her into bed. Serena kissed Rini on the top of the head and turned to go when she heard Rini say, very softly, "Bunny?"

Serena went back to Rini's bed and sat down on the edge. "What is it, Rini?"

"Do you know what was the matter with Luna P?"

Serena had a feeling a big discussion was coming on, so she reached over to the bedside table and flipped on Rini's little unicorn night light. After the adjustment of her eyes from the abrupt light, she took a moment to note that Rini's eyes were the same deep red of Setsuna's. _Don't be stupid!_ Serena scolded herself. _Stop thinking about Setsuna! Darien doesn't care about her like he cares about you, so just stop it._

Right. Stop it. Serena knew she was being unfair to both Setsuna and Darien to suspect something, but she was young and quite a bit naïve, as much as she hated to admit it. She was allowed to be jealous, as long as it didn't get too out of hand. A little jealousy was normal.

Serena took a breath and said to Rini, "Darien had a little talk with Setsuna. He said he doesn't think there's anything really wrong with her."

So, that last bit was a lie, but it wasn't a _bad_ lie. Just a little lie so that Rini would sleep and not worry about Setsuna. Rini seemed to be settling back again, anyway. She looked too tired to think anymore.

"Okay, Bunny. I was just worried about Luna P."

"Well, you don't need to worry. Everything's A-Okay."

The two of them exchanged warm smiles, then goodnights, and Serena went back down to her room. She prepared for bed and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	4. Why is She So Important to You!

**Author's note:**Thank you for staying with me so long! I love writing so very much 3. This chapter is going to be a bit longer; I hope no one minds. I just wanted to let you in on it that one of the rules that Queen Serenity gave to Setsuna with her power was that she cannot tell what she knows. Setsuna has abilities to see the past and future, as you know. But she is not allowed to _tell_ the future. That is a big _no_. Just had to tell you because this rule plays a big part in Setsuna's personality later on. I hope you're all enjoying The Best Kept Secrets! Thanks for all the good reviews! **3**

* * *

Darien hadn't driven straight home.

He tried. He really, really tried to go home.

Darien thought about his efforts to drive to his house, but his path led him to Setsuna's apartment building. His car was parked out front, and he was looking up. Her lights were on in the apartment, so he knew she wasn't asleep.

_What could she be doing? I hope she isn't crying again. _

Darien simply could not get Setsuna off his mind. He had to know how she was doing, what she was doing, if she was all right, anything. Darien sat in his car and watched. He was more at ease when he saw the lights all go out, one by one, until her bedroom light was the last left. Darien relaxed a lot, then. She was probably going to read a book or take a bath. He didn't really care what, but if she could function, she was okay, and that was what mattered.

Darien turned the car back on and went home.

_

* * *

_

_Please, don't cry._

_I know, I just can't help it! It's not fair, I—_

_Shh. It'll be all right._

_Do you really believe that?_

The girl watched as Setsuna tossed and turned in a light, uneasy sleep. She watched Setsuna from the darkness, hiding in the shadows. Had the Sailor Scouts honestly thought that they could get rid of her that easily? How _wrong_ they had been. How utterly and terribly _wrong_.

Chiharu's first want had been to kill Setsuna. Setsuna was honestly nothing more than a bother, but the thoughts coming from the woman really struck her. Setsuna was dreaming about something, maybe a past event, memories of something. None of that really mattered to Chiharu. She found herself just listening to the thoughts of the woman, and she couldn't just kill her. Something was going on here, and if she listened closely enough, she thought she might be able to find something that would get her the Silver Imperium Crystals.

"Tell me something," Chiharu began.

Setsuna just continued to murmur in her sleep.

"Who was the little pink-haired girl?"

"Don't you hurt Chibiusa!" Setsuna cried out in her sleep.

"Chibiusa," Chiharu trailed off a bit, in thought. "And what importance is this Chibiusa to you?"

Setsuna began to moan and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes. "Please leave her alone."

"Answer the question."

"She is Neo Queen Serenity's daughter!"

"What?" Chiharu looked confusedly toward the sleeping Setsuna and took a few steps forward. "That's not possible! How did she get here?"

"Don't harm her!"

"Why is she so goddamned important to you?!" Without realizing what she was doing, Chiharu lunged forward and grabbed Setsuna by the throat. Setsuna's hands flew up to grab Chiharu's and with surprising strength threw Chiharu off. Setsuna sat up, clearly awake.

"You!" 

"Shit!"

"PLUTO COSMIC POWER!" Setsuna threw her hand into the air and quickly made the transformation to Super Sailor Pluto. "Let's go!"

Chiharu made a mad dash out the door, Setsuna following very closely. "Stand and fight!" Setsuna screamed. "Stand and fight me, if you're going to threaten us!"

Chiharu suddenly stopped running and whirled around. "You want to fight me, Setsuna?!" Chiharu stuck out both hands, and called out, "Metallic lightning!" In a blinding flash, white lightning seemed to fly straight from Chiharu's hands and enveloped Setsuna in a stinging rage. Setsuna screamed in pain, dropping her garnet rod to the floor and falling on her hands and knees, gasping for air. Blood dripped from her eyes like tears at the horrible pressure in her head.

"Is that what you wanted?! I hope you got it, you miserable bitch! You can't fight me! _You can't do it!_ You tell Sailor Moon that she can't get me, no matter how hard she tries. Chiharu's unfuckingdefeatable!" Chiharu screamed, a hysterical laugh biting at the edge of her words. As her laughter died, her image faded out.

Setsuna groaned, and as she began to fall to the floor, her costume flickered on her body and then disappeared completely; leaving her in the simple white camisole and panties she had worn to bed. She was bleeding from the eyes and mouth, and luckily, the lightning had gone with the girl. She had attacked this time, and that was a bad thing. Setsuna found it an incredibly hard struggle to try to get herself up, and in the end, she didn't succeed. A few people started coming out of the apartments, and when they saw her, a few ran over and began asking questions, but Setsuna just let herself pass out.

_You sleep now…_

* * *

The doctors told Haruka it must have been a spat between Setsuna and her boyfriend. Haruka let them believe that. She knew that the girl from that night had finally gotten up the guts to attack. A capillary in Setsuna's head had burst, which caused her left eye to fill up with blood. The one on the right was not as bad. The doctor suggested that the boyfriend might've knocked her against the wall so hard that it had happened that way, and Haruka agreed. No sense in telling him the truth. Too much trouble would come out of it and not enough good.

The hospital had called Haruka at her and Michiru's apartment, telling her that Setsuna Meioh had been in some sort of accident, and she had given Haruka's name as her immediate contact. Haruka said that she'd be there right away. Haruka hated to wake Michiru, she'd helped Haruka in replacing the window, but she knew that Michiru would've wanted to come, and she had.

Setsuna had still been weak when Haruka and Michiru had taken her home, but there hadn't been any reason for her to stay in the hospital. She told them she would be more comfortable at home, anyway.

In the car, Michiru had already fallen asleep in the backseat, unable to keep her eyes open, as Haruka and Setsuna began to talk about what had happened.

"It was the girl from earlier tonight. I think her name is Chiharu."

"Did she say that it was?" inquired Haruka.

"Not outright. She was taunting me for trying to fight her, and she said, 'Chiharu's undefeatable.' I thought I could assume that was her name."

"I don't doubt it too much."

"I just woke up to her hands around my neck. I tried to do something about it and—well, you know." Setsuna sounded embarrassed and Haruka didn't blame her. She looked very tired, and something about it made Haruka a little sad. "What did you do about the window?" Setsuna wondered aloud, trying to change the subject.

"We replaced it," Haruka said dismissively. "Did this Chiharu character say anything else?"

"No," Setsuna answered. "She didn't say anything of any real importance." She was quiet for a moment, and then she cocked her head as thought something struck her. "Although…"

"What?" Haruka questioned after waiting a moment for an answer.

"I want to say that I remember her asking about Chibiusa, but I don't remember that. There wasn't any time for it."

"Are you sure? Are you sure she didn't ask you anything?" Haruka asked, parking the car beside the curb of the apartment building.

"No. I'm not sure. So let's pretend that she did."

"Why waste energy on that? We should focus on—"

Setsuna grabbed Haruka's arm so swiftly and so hard that it caused Haruka to cut off in mid-sentence with a small gasp. Setsuna's grip didn't hurt Haruka, but it was still shockingly strong. Setsuna looked at Haruka with eyes that were filled with determination and something else that Haruka was too surprised to be able to place.

"I won't let anything happen to Chibiusa. _Nothing_ can happen to her." Tears filled Setsuna's bloody eyes and she turned and got out of the car. She shut the door, leaving Haruka stunned in the front seat, watching as Setsuna walked up the front sidewalk and into the building, wiping away the tears as she went.


	5. Is It Really So Little?

Two days after the incident, Haruka called a little meeting for the Sailor Scouts of which Setsuna, Darien, Mina, and Raye were not in attendance. Setsuna had to do a lot of catching up at work, Darien was busy with some class he was taking, Mina had modeling workshop for three hours, and Raye had to run the temple while her grandfather was out of town.

Haruka told the rest what had happened to Setsuna, and reminded everyone to be wary of Chiharu.

"We still have no idea who she is or what she's trying to do," Haruka told them, "but we know now that she's hostile. We can't take any chances." She paused, waiting to see if anyone had any input. No one did, so Haruka continued. "Setsuna mentioned that Chiharu said something about Chibiusa," Haruka's gaze fell onto Serena as she said this last, "we must make sure that Chibiusa is _never alone_."

Serena hugged Chibiusa to her. "I won't let anything happen to her."

Haruka was silent for a moment.

_Setsuna's exact words_.

Then she said, "Good."

They departed.

=-=

Four days had passed and no one had seen hide or hair of Chiharu. Some of them relaxed, hoping that Chiharu was maybe gone for good. She'd only come to harass them and to show them she could cause trouble, and had been called back to wherever she'd come from. The rest of them were even more on edge; they thought that Chiharu was waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Darien walked down Main Street, hands in the pockets of his black blazer, at a leisurely pace. Setsuna had cancelled their plans for lunch, which was all right with him, and he had nothing to do. He had decided to take a walk to get away from work for a while. The weather was still rather cold, but today it had been oddly warm enough to just wear the blazer. The sun had melted away all the snow from Monday, which was a shame, but the weather was much nicer to bear.

As Darien walked by Otafukya Café, he noticed something that made him stop and look into the window. He was alone save those that hurried by around him; no one would sit outside in the café patio chairs because of the cold. Darien saw Setsuna sitting in the far back. Her back was to him, so she wouldn't know he was there. Setsuna was sitting alone, sipping a cup of coffee. He waited a minute and watched her. Two minutes. No one came to sit down with Setsuna, so Darien went in and did so himself.

"This seat taken?"

Setsuna looked up, surprised, but only a little. She managed a tiny smile and said, "No, of course not." Darien sat down across from her, as he usually did.

Setsuna did not say anything at first, and she would not look at him. Darien stared at her, though. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked so tired that it was overwhelming that she was still standing, and her eyes still had a slight red tint to them. The blood was still there, but only a little. He let them sit silently for a few more minutes, when at last he said to her,

"Are you afraid I'm going to ask you about the Christmas party?"

She slowly nodded her head, still refusing to look at him.

"Well, if it would make you feel a little better, I won't ask you."

"Thank you," she whispered. Nothing else.

"Setsuna," he said. No response. "Setsuna. Setsuna, will you look at me?" Setsuna lifted her head and their eyes finally met.

"You cancelled our lunch."

"I wasn't feeling well."

"I guess you feel better, now."

"But not much."

"You always speak in riddles."

More silence ensued. They stared at each other, and neither of them broke the gaze. He wondered what she could possibly be thinking. How mysterious Setsuna was. How often he would catch her staring off, seeing things that no one else could see. How often he would catch her when she thought no one was looking. He would catch her with those tears in her eyes.

"What is it, Setsuna?" Darien began to probe. He wanted to know something.

"What is what?"

"What is it that's making you like this?"

Last time she had been asked something like this, she had been unprepared and she had been unable to answer. This time, however, she wouldn't be caught off guard. This time, she thought about what he might ask her when they got to seeing each other again. This time, when Setsuna opened her mouth to speak, the lie slipped past her lips perfectly and articulately.

"I knew you wouldn't see past me for long, Darien," she began, "but I tried to hide it anyway. This new enemy really scares me. To be a Scout you must have courage and strength. I know I have those, but," she uttered a trembling sigh, all an act of the part she was playing beautifully, "it seems like fear prevails over them."

"Is that all?" He breathed in a sigh of relief.

The dreaded question, is that all. In an instant, Setsuna saw herself breaking down at the words. She saw herself bursting into tears, some of the people at the other tables turning to look for a moment, then turning away, pretending not to notice. She saw herself crying and saying, "_No!_ That's _not all!_ Can't you see? I just want you to know! All I want is for you to _remember!_"

But she did no such thing.

Instead, she smiled a soft, long-suffering smile and said, "That's all."

Darien laughed a little, a sound she loved hearing, and he said to her, "I was so worried. I thought the worst, Setsuna."

She joined him in his laughter, and it felt good. Oh, how silly. How silly for Setsuna too be scared of a little enemy, a single girl that everyone seems to be so confident that they could destroy if they could just get at her all at once. How very _silly_.

They laughed together.


	6. Don't Hate Me

Michiru lay in bed that night reading a book by the light of her table lamp. The novel was a nice, short romance, a quick read, and she was enjoying it so far. She reached up and turned the page, when something caught her eye. Haruka was standing in her doorway, looking at her.

"How long have you been there?" Michiru asked with a smile.

"Not long," Haruka did not return the smile, and Michiru's own faded. She cornered the page that she was on in her book and set it on the bedside table with a worried look.

"What's wrong?"

Haruka looked off out the brand new window, out at the city, not answering. She looked deeply contemplative, as she usually did as of recent events.

"Tell me, Haruka," Michiru whispered. Haruka looked at her closely.

"When I was driving Setsuna home, we talked about the new enemy. We talked about how she said she might hurt Chibiusa."

Michiru nodded gravely.

"Setsuna said something that struck me as odd, but it was only because it was coming from her," Haruka thought a moment, then continued, "I don't think it was _what_ she said, but really _how_ she said it."

Michiru gripped her white down comforter a bit nervously. "What did she say?"

"She said, 'I won't let anything happen to Chibiusa,' but she said it in such a way that it really struck me."

Michiru's lower lip trembled, but Haruka was no longer looking at her. She was looking out and away again. "H-How did she say it?"

"It wasn't until I heard Serena say it that I really recognized it. She sounded like a mother protecting her child."

Michiru suddenly burst into tears. She crawled out of bed and over to Haruka, seeking to be held and comforted.

"Jesus, Michiru!" Haruka exclaimed, holding out and by the shoulders, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Th-th-the mirror! I c-c-cou-couldn't t-tell, oh god—" Michiru's stammering voice was lost in her sobs, then. Haruka shook her roughly once by the shoulders.

"Get a hold of yourself! What the hell are you trying to tell me?"

"Don't _do_ th-this to m-m-me!" Michiru cried, ripping out of Haruka's grip and stepping back. She turned away from Haruka. "I m-m-made a promise n-not to tell anyone!"

"Christ, what are we, _fifteen_?!" Haruka yelled, exasperated. She threw her arms in the air in enragement. "You're not going to tell me what you know because of some stupid promise?! Shows how much you trust me!"

Michiru turned around, slow hurt and shock registering on her face. Haruka instantly melted, and her fury with Michiru's obduracy collapsed. "Oh, Michiru, I'm sorry."

"No," Michiru whispered. She grabbed her jeans off the bed and started putting them on, tears still coursing down her face. Michiru pushed past Haruka and out to the living room almost before Haruka could react.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"None of your business!"

"You can't leave!" Haruka was yelling as she followed Michiru to the door, "you have no car and I have the only set of keys to the—"

"I _don't care!_" Michiru screamed in a voice Haruka did not think she had been capable of. "I'm not going to stand here and take this!" She was sloppily pulling on her beige overcoat. "I'm not going to let you _yell_ at me anymore!" Michiru threw open the door to the apartment and slammed it shut as hard as she could.

=-=

"I'm coming!" Setsuna called sleepily. Furious knocking on her apartment door had awakened her. The knocking had continued until she finally reached the door and pulled it open. Setsuna gasped a little upon seeing whom it was. "Michiru!"

Michiru was crying, and Setsuna held out her arms to her. Michiru gratefully accepted the hug. Setsuna took a moment to take in that Michiru was freezing cold, so she must have walked all the way from her apartment to here. She looked like she'd been ready to go to bed, and she clutched her mirror in one hand. The Deep Aqua Mirror.

Setsuna pulled back gently and looked at Michiru, very confused and very concerned. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Michiru cried, tears slipping down her cheeks. Setsuna shut the door and they walked into the living room. Setsuna turned on a dim table lamp and lit a few more candles while Michiru collected herself. Setsuna brought a blanket to Michiru and sat down on the other end of the couch, Indian-style, facing Michiru.

"Please," Setsuna asked gently. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I know why you cry, Setsuna," Michiru whispered. Setsuna nodded slowly to show that she understood. "I saw it in the mirror. We were all at the apartment, you, Haruka, and me. We were going to go to a movie. You had just put on makeup. You picked up the mirror to check it and put it back down. I went over to use it and I saw. I saw it the mirror and I'm so sorry. Don't hate me, Setsuna."

"I don't hate you, Michiru," Setsuna said softly, fighting back her own tears as Michiru cried while she spoke.

"Haruka was telling me about you, something about the thing with Chiharu and I just broke. I almost told her everything, but she yelled at me. She thought it was about the enemy, maybe, I don't know. But she yelled at me again and I couldn't take it."

"Michiru, I'm sorry."

They were silent for a moment as Michiru's crying became sniffling. She looked up and said somberly, her voice low, "I have something else to tell you." Setsuna looked at Michiru, and nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Remember when Prince Diamond had the crystals and you were forced to stop time? So Serena could get the crystals back." Michiru did not speak sadly this time, she spoke with some sense of dignity, and she had the tone of a woman who cannot believe just how far a heart will go for the one it loves. Setsuna nodded again, finding that she could not speak. "I watched it happen, in the mirror. As you were dying, I remember… King Endymion… he became so desperate at the thought… of losing you."

Setsuna could no longer keep the tears back, and they came streaming down her face. "Yes," she whispered. "I remember."

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Setsuna's answering machine picked up, and Haruka's voice floated to them from the kitchen. "Setsuna, it's Haruka. Could you tell Michiru to call me, please? I'm really worried about her." Haruka hung up and the machine beeped.

"I can't talk to her right now," Michiru said quietly.

"You can stay here, tonight." Setsuna insisted. "This couch is plenty big enough. And you can borrow some of my clothes, and I'll give you a ride home in the morning." She got up to go get some more blankets for the couch.

Michiru smiled gratefully at her friend, Setsuna. "It's all right. I need to go home and face her."

"Michiru, I don't think that's a good—"

"Setsuna, really."

"Well, at least let me give you a ride."

"No, I just needed some time away. A walk will do me some good."

Setsuna put her hands on her hips and looked skeptically at Michiru. "I'm not going to let you walk home."

Michiru laughed a little and shook her head. "All right." She stood and placed the mirror on the coffee table and her smile faded. "I want you to look. I want you to see what I saw. You shouldn't be so afraid of the past, Setsuna."

"I wish I didn't have to be."


	7. Speaking in Riddles

**Author's Note: **Since there seems to be some confusion, this chapter is going to be very long in my attempt to clear things up. There's a part here I was going to save for later, but I don't want anybody getting too confused; they can't enjoy the story that way.

* * *

Chiharu stood in the room of the little Chibiusa girl, watching her sleep. She contemplated just how easy it would be to take her and kill her. It would be so easy to kidnap her, and make them all worry. The best part about it was that they had no idea where Chiharu went when she disappeared.

She had decided to let them get over the shock of Setsuna's injuries in hopes that she could catch them all off guard. However, they all seemed to be together all the time. Chiharu had to be careful and play her cards right, because she knew that she probably couldn't take on any more than three of them at once. When any of them _were_ in fact alone, they were around a bunch of other people. Chiharu didn't want a whole goddamned city after her.

She sighed, knowing she'd have to try one of the failed plans of many of the Sailor Scouts' past offenders. Chiharu would have to disguise herself and formulate some kind of a plan. Open a store, or something, to catch one of the girls' attention. Overused, dull plan, but a plan nonetheless. The only problem with killing or taking Chibiusa was that the Sailor Scouts would mourn, yes, but then they would be after her. They would comb the ends of the earth for Chiharu, and she just could not hide that long. She knew they would find her no matter what.

Chiharu knew that one of them had a mirror, and she could easily tell where Chiharu was if she simply caught her reflection once. If that mirror happened to capture Chiharu's reflection, it would be the end. They would get plenty of information and they would know. Everything would be ruined. She'd never get the damn crystals and Gavin would never love her.

Prince Gavin of the Aeries galaxy wanted the Earth Solar System more than anything. He always told Chiharu, official protector of the galaxy, that the only things getting in his way were the damned Sailor Scouts of the Earth Solar System. They were stronger than almost any other scouts in the entire universe were. "Including you, Chiharu," he had told her. Chiharu had been filled with bitter jealousy. She was Sailor Aeries, goddamnit. She trained under the strongest star near the Earth Sphere Galaxy. She protected an entire galaxy (small, only four planets, but still an entire galaxy) alone.

Gavin told her all about the Silver Imperium Crystals, which had kept the Silver Millennium alive for so many years. He told Chiharu that those crystals were what gave the Sailor Scouts so much power. He said that if anyone else could get those crystals, they would become stronger than the Sailor Scouts would, and they would be able to take the Earth Solar System.

Chiharu, Sailor Aeries was convinced that if she could get Gavin his galaxy, he would begin to love her the way that she loved him. She wanted to kill the Sailor Scouts and give him his galaxy. To do that, she had to start with the crystals. She had to weaken the scouts somehow.

But part of her—

Don't think that. Don't even think about that. Just complete your mission.

As much as she tried to keep the thought away, it just came drilling back with incredible force. Part of her did not want to kill them. She was a Sailor Scout, too. Chiharu couldn't bring herself to kill any of them. The crystals belonged to _them_.

Chiharu gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.

"That's just too damn bad," she whispered to herself. "They've been in charge too long."

Stop lying to yourself to justify what you're doing.

"Stop it," Chiharu hissed, shutting her eyes.

It's wrong. If he can't love you because you're you, he isn't worthy of— 

"STOP IT!"

"…Serena…?" Came Chibiusa's sleepy voice.

Chiharu gasped a bit at her outburst and sank back into the shadows, watching as Chibiusa slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Bunny, is that you?" Chibiusa stared into the darkest corner of her room and swallowed. She could see the shape of a woman there. "Bunny?" She said in a quiet, scared voice. The shape did not move. The dark shape just stood, as though she was trying to become the shadow.

"Bunny…?"

But she knew it was not Bunny in the corner.

"Come out!" Chibiusa said. Her voice was filled with a lot more courage than she was feeling.

"If I did, what would you do?" A voice crooned from the corner.

"What do you want?" Chibiusa's voice began to tremble, just a little bit.

"I want the crystals. I want the Imperium Silver crystals."

"Chibiusa? Who are you talking to?"

Chiharu stepped out of the shadows. "Is Bunny going to come in and save you?"

Chibiusa did not reply. She only clutched her blanket, pulling it up to her eyes.

"You don't want to come with me?"

Chibiusa opened her mouth to scream, but Chiharu grabbed her and held a hand over her mouth. She pulled Chibiusa up to her, waiting for Serena to come up, wanting Serena to see who was in control.

Serena pulled the attic door down, started coming up the ladder. "Chibiusa?"

Chiharu snickered aloud and Serena quickened her pace. "Chibiusa?!" Serena came out at the top of the ladder. "Chiharu!"

Chiharu's snicker grew to a laugh, horrible and long. "This is what you get when you relax, Sailor Moon!"

"How did you know I was here?! How did you know I'm Sailor Moon?!" Serena asked incredulously.

"Put two and two together, anybody can do it. There are some things you just _know_."

"I'll do anything, please, don't take Chibiusa!"

"Anything?"

"_Anything!"_

Chiharu stood, watching Serena getting ready to start crying. She thought of how easy this was. There weren't any other Sailor Scouts around to convince her not to give the crystal to her. No one to stop Chiharu. Serena hadn't taken any precautions and oh, how delicious this little scenario was.

"I need your Silver Imperium Crystal."

Serena fumbled with the brooch in her pocket and held it out with a trembling hand. "T-t-take it, just give Chibiusa back!"

Chiharu stared down at Serena's shaking hand, and thought for the first time that this must be a trick the Sailor Scouts were playing on _her_. There was a chance, however small, that they actually _had_ been prepared. Somehow, this was just _too easy_.

_What do I do?_

Chiharu dropped Chibiusa and simultaneously grabbed the brooch, and then she threw herself backward and went crashing through Chibiusa's window, down toward the ground. Chiharu's image faded just before she would have hit the ground. 

=-= 

Setsuna sat in a chair in the kitchen and stared at the mirror. The mirror lay unobtrusively on the coffee table, face down, almost like it was waiting for her. The mirror was waiting for Setsuna to come over, pick it up, and look inside of it. To face her past. She hadn't been able to move since she had come in from dropping Michiru off at her apartment building. Setsuna felt, truthfully, almost threatened by what the mirror held. Threatened by it's knowledge. You have to face it. Slowly and with all the grace that she seemed to posses, Setsuna stood and walked over to the glass coffee table. She lifted the mirror and looked into it. Her nervous, tired expression stared back at her. Her image began to waver out, and it was replaced with another. 

_Two silhouettes can be seen against a dark wall. They are of a man and a woman. The man is walking, pacing back and forth, and the woman is sitting on the bed. In their silhouette, the woman's head hangs wearily, and the man makes frustrated gestures with his hands as he speaks. There is no other light but that of the moon and the stars._

_"This isn't goddamned fair! He can't just expect me to stop leaving the castle!"_

_"Times have changed."_

_"Times have changed?! Is that all you have to say about it?! We're done, this is it!"_

_A sob is heard from the woman, and her voice, barely audible says, "I know." His silhouette stops its furious pace and stares at the woman's silhouette. "Do you think you're the only one losing sleep?! Do you think you're the only one who can think of nothing else!?" By now, she is crying steadily._

_The man's silhouette heaves its shoulders in a sad sigh and he says softly, "My father, he wants me to meet this Moon Princess. He wants me to marry her in hopes that the relationship between the Moon and the Earth will better."_

_"I wish I didn't care. I wish we could just run away together," the woman whispers._

_The man continues speaking softly, "Our sage Beryl has fallen ill."_

_"Ill of the mind," the woman replies, her voice even softer than his own. The two of them sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments. Then the man's silhouette sits on the bed and leans toward the woman's and its hand touches her shoulder._

_"You've always spoken in riddles because you can't tell the things you know. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."_

_Another sobs comes from the woman, and she falls into his arms and finally begins to truly cry. Her voice is heart breaking. "Please don't go! I don't want you to go! You can't leave me, please don't leave me."_

_The man holds the woman, both of them in darkness, and his own tears slide down his cheeks. "I love you. I love you more than anything."_

_They both know that he cannot stay, but they both refuse to accept it, for now. They have known for many nights, and they have spoken of it many times. They have cried themselves to sleep in this very bed together five times since the news. This time, however, will be the last._

_"It will be better," he promises, taking her by the face and looking into her tear-filled eyes. He fights off sobs as he speaks. "It will be better because we won't have to see each other. You won't have to look at me and be sad, you won't have to see me with her and wish it was you," with this last statement he broke off into a very short sob, unable to hold back completely. He pulls her toward him and they kiss. The kiss is full of passion and longing._

_Slowly, they both calm. They lay together in the bed, their shapes dark._

_"I love you," she says to him, her words deep and full of meaning._

_"I love you, too." And he did love her._

_The guardian and the prince made love for the last time, and when she was asleep, he bent towards her, kissed her lips gently. He put a hand to her forehead, brushing some of her hair out of her face and whispered to her, "You sleep now. It'll all be well again when you wake up." With this, he stole into the night, back to his kingdom and his home._


	8. No More Screwing Around

Setsuna's lower lip trembled, tears stood out in her eyes, but she refused to cry. She was determined to be finished crying. Setsuna was determined to just let all of it go. Those things had happened so long ago. Destiny had taken its course; Setsuna and Darien were not meant to be. She wanted to just forget it. He didn't even remember, anyway.

_King Endymion will remember._

Setsuna shut her eyes tightly, trying to bid the thoughts away.

_Oh, stop it, Setsuna,_ a voice, her own voice, perhaps from the future, whispered in her mind. _Don't try to push it away. You're the only one who can't hide from these things. No one else can know but you, so why bother trying to forget? King Endymion? He _will_ remember, he _does_ remember. Darien dreams about it. He sees the silhouettes. He has dreams about a woman he can not see and does not think he knows. Eventually, those dreams form into secretive memories. And you will know, too. You will know by the way he looks at you. And remember that fateful day, too, don't you? It took that star seed a long time to form, but form it did. And then—_

"No!" Setsuna shouted, pulling her hands up to her ears. "I won't hear anymore!"

The sudden ringing of the phone startled her out of her thoughts. She turned her head and stared at the old fashioned black phone for a moment. It sat, silent, on the end table by the couch, and she thought she must have imagined it. As if to convince her, it rang again. Setsuna hurried over to the phone and picked it up. She hesitated to answer a moment, fearing that the voice in her mind that she knew was her would start in about all those terrible things again.

"Setsuna." The voice belonged to Darien.

"What? What is it?" She asked quickly, sensing that something was amiss. "What's the matter?"

"Are you decent?"

"N-No, but I can be in a minute or—"

"Good," he cut her off. "I'm going to be at your apartment in two minutes. Something terrible has happened, and I'm taking you to Serena's. I'll explain on the way." He hung up before she got a chance to reply.

Setsuna ran to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of flare jeans that had been lying on the bed, ready to be put away. She pinned her hair all up with a large clip and then grabbed her coat off the chair in the dining room on her way out. Thoughts flew through her head at a blinding speed, but she didn't even give herself a second to really consider any of them. Setsuna jogged down the stairs, taking them two at a time, the long tail of her coat flying behind her. She burst through the doors at the bottom of the apartment building to see Darien pulling up. Setsuna jumped into the passenger seat and he tore away from the curb, already pushing seventy.

"Okay," she began, struggling to catch her breath after jogging the first six flights and running the rest, "What the hell is going on here?"

"First off, I came to pick you up because there is absolutely no more traveling alone for the Scouts. Chiharu got one of the Imperium Silver Crystals."

"What?!" Setsuna gasped, a hand touching her chest. Her deep, dark red eyes grew wide with shock.

Darien nodded grimly, his eyes on the road. "Apparently, it was either Chibiusa were to be killed or Serena would hand over the crystal. I guess Serena was too afraid to call for help or make any other move because she didn't know what Chiharu would do." He finished, approaching Serena's neighborhood.

"I can't believe this," Setsuna murmured, her shock still overcoming her. She found herself muttering a string of words that she almost didn't know had come out of her mouth, "She did what she had to in order to protect Chibiusa."

"This is still a major loss." Darien pulled up behind Haruka's yellow sports car. There were two police cars, and Serena's parents were standing at the end of the driveway, speaking to policemen. A few more cops were investigating broken glass all over the front lawn.

Darien and Setsuna got out of the car, waved to Serena's parents, and went on inside the house. Darien led Setsuna to the living room, where the others were all crowded in. Serena sat, sobbing, on the couch. Raye had an arm around her and Amy sat on the other side. She appeared to be offering Serena some tea. Michiru was telling Mina that Hotaru couldn't come because her father didn't let her out past nine.

All eyes went up to Setsuna and Darien except Serena's, and Chibiusa scrambled out of Haruka's lap and ran toward them, tears already flowing. "Luna P!!" Chibiusa wailed. Setsuna scooped Chibiusa up into her arms and held her, trying to shush her. Darien went over to the couch and Raye stood, giving him a seat. Darien pulled Serena to him in a hug, and he began to whisper softly into her ear, stroking her back, trying to get her to calm down a little.

Setsuna sat on the opposite couch with Haruka, while Chibiusa cried against her shoulder.

Haruka was the one who finally broke the silence. "Obviously, Sailor Moon is out of action, now. We no longer have the option of waiting around for Chiharu. That didn't get us very far."

"Haruka and I discussed it in the car," Michiru said firmly. Her voice was commanding, a true rarity, but it was time now to take charge. "We decided that we're going to have to lure Chiharu to us and hope she doesn't know how to use the power of the crystal she already has."

"Everybody knows that Darien has the other one," Haruka went on. "Chiharu will expect it to be well-guarded, just like Sailor Moon is always well-guarded by us." Something in Haruka's voice changed, then, and Setsuna saw it on Michiru's face, too. They looked like they had failed miserably, and they were prepared to go to all lengths to fix it. "We're going to give someone a fake crystal that we can buy at a novelty store. We're going to heavily guard that person, and then, when Chiharu strikes, we'll be ready."

"We can't give her another chance to underestimate us." Michiru said, her expression stern. Her dark blue gaze fell on Amy. "Amy, we've opted for you to carry the crystal."

Amy said nothing; she only nodded dutifully.

"No more funny business. We're always going to be alert from now on. This Chiharu means serious business, and we have to trap her in order to get the other crystal back. We're banking that she doesn't have any idea of its power and that she's just trying to satisfy some kind of greed." Haruka looked around the room at all of them. "We've had a lot of time to study her. I came up with nothing. Did anyone else find anything?"

Chibiusa slowly sat up in Setsuna's lap, wiped her eyes and then looked at Haruka. "She's a Sailor Scout."

"How do you know, Chibiusa?"

"I know because I dreamed about her thoughts. It was only at the end of my dream," Chibiusa told them all quietly, "but they were so loud and angry. I think she works for someone she is trying to impress."

"Do you remember anything, Rini?" Questioned Darien in a soft voice. "Anything at all?"

Chibiusa's face wrinkled in concentration. "She was thinking about us all being Sailor Scouts. She was thinking that she was doing wrong…" Chibiusa frowned to show that she couldn't remember anything else.

"It's true, then." Amy told them. "She could hear Chiharu's thoughts because Chiharu is also a Sailor Scouts. When a Sailor Scout near you is in pain, you can hear their pain and in some cases feel it."

Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna exchanged glances. They were familiar with this.

"A Sailor Scout from another galaxy!" Luna piped up, "Why didn't I ever think of it? It makes perfect sense! She must have heard about this crystals and wanted them for her own."

"She probably has malevolent purposes," Haruka said forcefully, "And if she doesn't, we're pretending she does. We have to get the crystal back."

The group heard Serena's parents thanking the policemen and coming back into the house.

"Meeting adjourned," Haruka said.


	9. Sometimes When We Touch

Darien and Setsuna had been the last to leave Serena's house that night. Setsuna had been unable to leave until Chibiusa had fallen asleep, Chibiusa wouldn't calm down if she knew Setsuna was leaving. Darien had to comfort Serena a bit, and she had gone to sleep with Chibiusa in her bedroom.

Darien and Setsuna both walked out of the house and out into the January night. The weather was unusually comfortable. The two of them did not speak until they reached the car, not because of tension, but because of a mutual but unspoken exhaustion.

Setsuna was hoping she would be too tired to think anymore that night. However, as soon as Darien sat down beside her, she felt all fluttery inside, like a schoolgirl with a crush. No, that wasn't right. This feeling had nothing to do with any small crush of any kind.

She remembered this feeling; it was very familiar to her. Darien made her feel this way. He made her feel that feeling all those years ago and here it was today, not burning as brightly but the embers still glowed faintly inside her. Her gaze fell slowly to his hand, resting on the middle glove compartment between the two seats. So close, yet so far. Setsuna found herself reaching down toward his hand to grasp his, and she snapped it back to her lap immediately.

Luckily, Darien had been so distracted by his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed at all.

_Or he pretended not to._

Well, it could be that, too. Setsuna's hand balled into a fist, her sensibly short manicured nails biting into her palm. She bit her soft pink lower lip and shut her eyes tightly. Darien was driving slowly, leisurely, almost as though he wasn't sure where he was going, and it was killing her. The sooner she could get out of this car, the sooner she could get all of this off of her mind. This time, she thought she might use Haruka's remedy. There was still a bottle of Domperignon in the cupboard above the fridge.

"I need to stop at home for a minute," Darien said. "Is that all right with you?"

"Sure," Setsuna said. Her voice was much more agreeable and much more steady than she feared it was going to be, and for that she was thankful.

He parked the car up against the curb and got out. "You coming up?" He asked her.

"Okay."

The two of them walked up to the door and Darien punched in his code. Setsuna took a moment to reflect on how much more high-tech his building was than hers, and then he pushed the door open and she sucked in a breath.

Darien followed her in. As they walked toward the elevator together, he observed her secretly. He'd been doing quite a lot of this lately, behind her back. There was something different in her. Tonight, that something shone brighter than ever, yet he still was unable to place what it was. Her eyes seemed brighter. She walked with more grace than usual, and that was incredible. Setsuna seemed like she was floating. Her voice held a dreamy quality; not disconnected, but simply dreamy. All of these things made her even more beautiful.

Setsuna kind of reminded him of the way he thought he must have been when he had first laid eyes upon Princess Serenity. Her blue eyes glinted, her gold earrings and crescent moon shape on her forehead glittered. She had been so beautiful and mature that night. The night of the ball that started a chain of peace conferences between the earth and the moon.

Darien remembered that night also being his last night of grief from an extremely long period of such. The reason why he'd been grieving had been lost to him, no longer a memory but just a thought. Not even that, it was probably closer now to an idea than anything else.

In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything before Princess Serenity.

Darien loved Serena. He really, truly did. But something stirred in him when the back of Setsuna's hand brushed his, or when she smiled softly at him, or when she would touch him on the shoulder or the arm. Anywhere she would touch him with her bare hand, something deep down inside of him seemed to wake up. This feeling only lasted but a mere second, sometimes a few seconds, but it had been happening often enough lately for him to notice it.

This was more than some mere want for her; he'd had that ever since he met her. The fact was something Serena accepted easily. Setsuna was just that kind of woman. It would be weird not to feel some sort of want for her as a male. However, this was more than just that. This was something deeper than Serena's or his own understanding. A few snatches of an old song

(_sometimes when we touch the honesty's too much sometimes I have_)

floated through Darien's head for a second, but they were gone as quickly as they had come.

The two of them rode the elevator in silence, this time a sort of tension between them. The two felt it so thick in the air that they almost found it difficult to breathe. Both sensed that it needed only a spark to ignite it into furious passion, yet neither would dare even think those kinds of thoughts. Solid boundaries were put up in both of their minds, but however solid, they still began to crumble.

They walked down the hall to his apartment.

"I'll wait out here," Setsuna said, her voice very thin and sort of high-pitched.

"You can come in," Darien insisted, showing more control than she did.

"It's not a good ide—"

"Don't be so damn stubborn. Just come in. I'll only be a minute."

Setsuna bit her tongue and followed him into the dark apartment. She followed him all the way in to where the small sitting area was, and she sat down on his little grey loveseat with the lime green pillows. Darien went back to the bedroom.

Setsuna sat in the dark, not bothering with the lights, and tried to get some sort of restraint over her raging emotions. She closed her eyes and tried to think of single things to get her mind off of this; a candlelit bath, the sound of soft ocean waves at sunset, the stars, a bouquet of flowers. This calmed her a little, and she was glad for that. Darien came back out of the bedroom. She wondered briefly what it was that he'd had to do, but the thought lasted barely a moment. Setsuna decided she didn't care.

She stood from the couch, and they both just looked at each other.

They both wanted to say so much.

Darien came out with, "Ready?"

Setsuna could only nod. The tension was back. Thicker and stronger than ever.

"We should go then."

"We should."

_Neither moved._


	10. Can You Face It?

Serena sat bolt upright in bed, breathing hard and sweating very little. A chill ran down her spine and she looked to her left, then to her right. Chibiusa was asleep beside her, and the little girl's warm body beside her was comforting.

"Why do I keep having this nightmare?" Serena whispered aloud. She covered her face with her hands a moment as she tried to control herself.

This was the fourth time she'd had the dream in as many days. In the dream, Serena was spying into her mother's bedroom. This was not her mother on earth. This was always her mother from the moon kingdom. She was discussing something with their sage, Alana. The bedroom door was cracked just a little bit, and Princess Serena could always see into the brightly lit chamber just enough to see her mother's back and Alana's tired expression.

"…going to have to put a spell on him." Princess Serena heard her mother finish.

"I'd have to advise against it, my Queen. If you were discovered—"

"Alana," Queen Serenity interrupted softly, her voice sad, "what other choice do we have? He cannot overcome this lost love on his own. If we help him a bit, he will be in better spirits when he meets my daughter."

Alana sighed wearily. "You cannot make two people fall in love, my Queen."

"I know," Queen Serenity paused a moment and clutched the Moon Scepter a bit tighter, "but I can help them along, can I not?"

At this point in her dream, Princess Serena would step back from the door and a hand would rest on her shoulder. She would turn around to face Darien. However, it wasn't really Darien. This form was a rotted zombie Prince Darien, holding out some kind of necklace to her, blank eyes staring. Then, in a choked voice he would croak,

"I love you."

And then blood would come gurgling from his mouth and she would wake up screaming.

Serena did not understand what this dream meant, nor did she understand what her mother, Queen Serenity, was planning. She could always remember this dream very vividly; she always remembered every detail and every word that was said. Serena had never spoken of it to anyone, but she thought that if she were to speak of it, now would be as good a time as any.

Serena thought she should go to Setsuna because of Setsuna's vast knowledge of all the things that have happened, are happening, or will happen. The only problem Serena saw was that Setsuna made her a little uncomfortable. She would never admit it to anyone, but it was very true. Something just emitted from Setsuna in waves that intimidated Serena, and she wasn't exactly sure what it was.

Serena ultimately decided that she would talk to Raye. Raye had interpreted dreams for the scouts plenty of times, and she was usually bang-on. Serena relaxed upon this solution and rested her head on her pillow again. She did not dream again.

=-=

Setsuna sucked in a breath of air and then exhaled in a shuddery sigh. She had of course known that there would be some kind of intense confrontation, but she did not want it to be now. She sensed that Darien had been expecting it as well, and there was something else.

There it was again, that "something else." Setsuna recognized that this had been quite a theme in the past week or so. She had been at a loss of words to describe the things she saw on his face, and sometimes the things she heard in the sound of her own voice. One of those somethings was probably what prevented her from speaking now. Words that she wanted to say were just too dangerous. What they held was just too frightening to try to convey properly.

"Tell me," Darien said.

"What?" Setsuna was surprised to hear that she did not sound afraid.

"Tell me what you are thinking. What are you thinking right now?"

Setsuna raised her eyes to him and suddenly, all the fear and nervousness was gone. Setsuna looked deeply into his grey-blue eyes. The moon reflected off them, making them seem deeper. In that moment, Setsuna found much clarity in her thinking and in her sight. She could see every fleck of grey and the darker flecks of cobalt shining in his eyes in that slit of moonlight across his eyes. Setsuna opened her mouth and the words flew fluently, brilliantly, like flashes of light.

"If you don't know now, Darien, you will _never_ know. I shouldn't have to tell you, and, in a way, I'm perfectly sure that you know what it is that I'm going to tell you. If I talk long enough, eventually, some part of you is going to remember it. Want to know why? Because what happened is not something that anyone is bound to forget. You are supposed to remember. And when you do, what you choose you make with that knowledge is your choice."

Setsuna held out her hand and a flash of gleaming golden light in the shape of a hand mirror formed there. The light was so bright, Darien instinctively brought up a hand to shield his eyes, knowing that this kind of light would not damage them.

The light slowly faded and in her hand, Setsuna clutched Michiru's Deep Aqua Mirror. Her eyes narrowed, her body not moving, her arm extend upward until she was holding the mirror to him. "Will you take it?" she asked him. "Can you face the past?"

"I'm not sure that I can," he whispered, almost positive she hadn't heard him.

She nodded to prove that she had.

Darien took a few steps toward her, and reached out to the mirror. He grasped it by the top. Setsuna's gaze did not waver from his. There were no more tears in her eyes. She had become the Keeper of Time. This was the real Setsuna. This Setsuna did not hide behind a mask of tears; a mask of grief. She was strong and purposeful. Another part in her that he thought was beautiful. Another part of her that he went even so far as to say that he loved.

Setsuna looked down at the mirror, and Darien followed suit. He saw the reflection of two sets of eyes, hers red and his grey blue, and then they began to just fade away. Darien saw two silhouettes. The silhouettes of a man and a woman.


	11. I Can't Just Stop

When it was over, the mirror vanished with a flash of light, and the two of them were left together in the middle of his dark apartment. Setsuna stood in silence and waited for him to say something. A cloud had covered the moon and she could no longer read his expression. He didn't say anything for a very long time, so she suggested, "Now why don't you tell me what you are thinking."

Darien finally raised his head from its lowered position, and Setsuna was a little surprised to see a tortured expression as the clouds passed and the moonlight hit his pale face a moment. "It's true," Darien told her, "you're the woman in my dreams. It was you all along. You're the woman I gave the necklace to. Oh, god." Darien put a hand to his head and staggered back to the couch. He sat down on it heavily. "My god, Setsuna."

Setsuna's hard defense against the entire situation deteriorated a little then, and she found herself wanting to break down and say, "There are more secrets, Darien. You didn't love Serena all the way on your own, they helped you to it, and the Queen, she kept putting spells on you to keep you in love with her. You could have done it on your own, I knew you then and I know you now, but the Queen didn't trust you. She and your father _arranged your meeting and then the Queen made you fall in love with her!!"_

She did not let anything like those words escape her lips, instead she held her head up a little more and rebuilt the defense against the sadness and the tears and the pain.

"They weren't just dreams. I tried to pass them off as that because I didn't know what else to do. I know what the future is, I know so far into the future and I'm still with Serena, even then. I didn't want to believe that there were other threads, or other times, or even other instances. For a long time, I wondered if my memory had been erased. I never thought about you. It was like you had been completely erased from my mind. Sometimes, though, I only have to touch you and everything starts to come back to me." Darien was looking at her now, long and hard as he spoke. His hands were limp between his legs, which his elbows rested on. His shock seemed to have gone a little from him. Setsuna realized seeing this that she had been right. Some part of him had known about it.

"It only lasts a second," he continued, "but it's still there. It took me so long to figure it out, Setsuna, because I didn't want to believe that there was anything else." Finally, he looked away, off looking now at nothing. "Now, I'm not really so sure. If these other threads exist, I just might have to pick them up. Do they need to be fixed? Can I really pick up all of your pieces?"

Setsuna sighed a little, and all of her old love for him rushed over her like a wave. Feeling coursed through her like a flash flood, and for a moment, she was completely vulnerable. She took a few seconds to collect what was left of her rock hard defense and she asked him austerely, "What are you asking me to do?"

_Now, there's the real question_, Darien thought, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. _That's the question for me and for her. What, exactly, do I want Setsuna to do about it? Here she offers me a choice. All of this is destiny. I know that I'm with Serena in the future, but how does Setsuna play into all of this? I can't just_ stop _loving her._

"I can't just stop loving you," he said aloud, his gaze falling to her once more. This time, he did not pass on to some other currently meaningless object in his small living room with the big windows. Their eyes locked and stayed locked; no one tried to look away.

"I think you're going to have to. You have her. Serena, she's per—"

"Perfect?" He interrupted, his tone changing to a slightly cruel one. He leaned forward and said, "you don't actually believe that, do you? Don't tell me that she's perfect as a futile attempt to get my mind off of you. You showed me the truth. You can't go back. And don't try to tell me you've lost your old feelings for me, because I suspect that you had them all along."

Setsuna's lower lip tried to tremble, but she absolutely refused to let it. "How could you not tell?!" She spat, "I always hung around waiting for you, I always stared at you when I thought no one was looking, and I had to have these memories all by myself!" As she told him these things, these things that were somehow horrible to him, her voice rose in a crescendo. Darien found himself unable to restrain the need to go to her and he did so. Darien pulled Setsuna to him in a tight hug.

"It's all right, now," he whispered softly to her. His lips brushed against the soft skin of her ear, and some of her hair tickled his face. The tears that she had been working so hard to keep back at last spilled over her eyelids and coursed down her cheeks.

"It can't be," she said softly. "It can't ever be all right." She believed that he knew that, as well. He took her by the chin and lifted her eyes to his.

"But it can. It can be all right at this very moment," he leaned down closer to her, "please, Setsuna, let it be."

Everything about the moment was incredibly wrong, but it was also incredibly perfect. Her heart glowed with a certain warmth, something she remembered from so long ago. The feeling was like a visit from her oldest, dearest friend. Love. Setsuna loved Darien with all of her heart, and she never wanted him to let go of her. She never wanted to be anywhere else but that where she was.

"Darien," she breathed.

He suddenly exhaled and his hand slipped into her hair, and there was a look on his face of utter wanting and astonishing love. She felt his hand unbuckle her clip, and her hair went spilling down to her hips. The clip clattered to the floor. "I love you, Setsuna," he said. Setsuna stood there with him a moment, his hand holding some of her hair against her head, his other arm around her waist, tears glittering in his eyes.

"I love you, too, Darien," she said. "I love you."

They kissed.


	12. Anytime

He lay in his bed, his head propped up on his hand, and he watched her sleep. He also held her hand with his right one. The touch was both wonderful and necessary.

Lazy sunlight filtered in through the window blinds, and Darien estimated that it was well after eleven. Almost afternoon. Setsuna probably had to work today, and he had to go in at three. Neither of them had showered. Also, none of it mattered.

Setsuna looked so serene and beautiful when she slept. The thin bars of sunlight that crossed her face in parallel lines added shadow that made her seem wildly young and beautiful for the ages. She looked exactly as he remembered her. Her touch was the same. Being with her, inside of her, was something very like flying, leaving himself to become part of something that was so much bigger than either of them. A thing nothing less than pure ecstasy.

He sighed contently and sat up, the rumpled white sheet sliding off his body and exposing his bare chest. Darien did not release Setsuna's hand, but reached down with his free hand and brushed some of her long bangs out of her face.

His gentle smile turned quickly to a frown. Darien knew that this would not last, and it would be painful when things came to a close. He had to end it to preserve his love for Serena. Still, one nagging thought remained: as much as Darien loved Serena, he thought he loved Setsuna more. This thought always brought on more thoughts that made everything in the future more and more clear. Setsuna returned to the lonely Gates of Time so that she would be as far away from Darien as possible. Neo Queen Serenity always agreed to this steadfastly; she said it was the best way.

There were still things he couldn't piece together, yet; like the reasons why Neo Queen Serenity never allowed Rini to go to see Setsuna, but he could easily figure things in.

Later, when there was time.

For now, he watched her sleep. Darien watched Setsuna sleep.

=-=

Serena made her way up the long stone staircase leading up to the Hikawa Shrine. She took them slowly, admiring the stone that had been bleached by the sun. She was altogether nervous, excited, and frightened, and the mix made her sick to her stomach. The dream beat in her head as she marched up the stairs, every word and every scene pervading her thoughts. She hoped that talking to Raye would rid her of it.

She let herself into the temple when she reached the top of the stairs, pausing only to wave to Chad and Raye's grandfather, who were preparing to meditate beneath some of the bare cherry blossoms. Serena thought it too chilly to be outside for long, and took a moment to marvel at the strength of mind that priests must have.

The hallway to the room where Raye meditated by the fire was dark, and she knew that the meditation room would be even darker. Serena slid the door open and stepped in, closing it behind her. Raye looked up from the fire, but her firm expression did not change. She nodded to Serena and Serena seated herself on her knees beside Raye. The fire was burning brightly, and warmed her skin immediately.

Raye's plum-colored eyes closed slowly. "I prayed about your dream," she told Serena, her voice low. "I prayed long and hard, and I kept on getting the same answer." Raye's tone was grim, and Serena thought the suspense would kill her. She swallowed hard.

"Will you tell me?" She asked, her tone almost one of begging.

Raye opened her eyes and looked at Serena long and hard, deciding how to put the interpretation and also wondering how in the world she could put it. Serena looked tired and worn. She looked like she had been doing nothing but crying, and Raye suspected that she had. Serena had lost a crystal to an enemy, and they weren't sure if they had any real hope of getting it back. They had all thrown together some meager plan and laughed uneasily about how stupid they hoped Chiharu was. She would fall for it _for sure_.

Raye had been even angry with Serena. There was a better chance of them getting Rini back than there was of getting that goddamned crystal.

Raye cleared her throat and said, "The dream tells me that your mother put a spell on Prince Darien to make him love you."

Serena gasped a little and whispered, "What?"

"He didn't fall in love with you all the way on his own. The first spell was to end a grieving for something or someone he lost. The rest of the spells were small ones to make sure he didn't fall out of love with you. They didn't think he would, but when it started looking that way, why, they just put another spell on him. They weren't to make him like you more, but they were used to erase someone else from his mind."

Raye stopped and shut her eyes to let Serena digest what she'd said. Also, she couldn't bear seeing Serena's horrified expression.

_Made him fall in love_! Serena's mind screamed over and over at her. _Made him fall in love! Your own mother made him fall in love!!_

After a few moments of this, rationality kicked in, and the screaming voice was replaced by one that sounded bitter. _Right. Your mother helped him fall in love with you and then made sure that he stayed in love with you. So he'd had another woman before you? That could easily be helped. Just erase the girl from his memory, slowly but surely. In time, she was gone. You had plans to marry. And then you killed yourself for him when the Negaverse attacked. He loved someone else and your mother and his father took her away from him. He loved someone else._

Serena wished Raye would say something. She felt like she was going to throw up soon if she was forced to chew on these things any longer. "It can't be true," she managed to say in a choked voice.

Raye gritted her teeth. "It's true. However, he wouldn't be able to tell you about any of it if you asked. He won't remember. He couldn't remember unless someone showed it to him, and that is impossible. The woman would not still be living."

Knowing this made Serena relax a bit, and she unclenched her fists. So, he couldn't remember her. That was good. That assurance somehow made everything a little better. The past was the past, and the past had been forgotten. She suddenly remembered something. "The necklace!" Serena said suddenly. "The necklace he was holding! What does that mean?"

"The necklace belonged to her. She gave it to him to say goodbye."

"He was giving it to me, in the dream."

Raye nodded. "I don't know what it means."

"There was a key on the end of it," Serena recalled, staring into the flames. Her voice was thoughtful and dreamy. "An old brass key. It was very beautiful."

"A key," Raye repeated, thinking. "A key. I think it represents the key to her heart. Or a symbol of her undying love, maybe." She shook her head. "Perhaps it means nothing."

Serena managed a small smile and turned to gaze at Raye. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime," Raye said. She did not, however, return the smile.


	13. All You Had to Do Was Say 'I love you'

Amy walked down the sidewalk, pulling her coat around her against the wind. She was flanked by Lita and Mina, the two of them looking around as if they were Special Agents, searching for any threat. Amy felt a bit too guarded. Things had been this way for an entire day and now it was getting to be nighttime, and she was already finding herself tired of it.

There was almost no one on the street. Amy and Mina had gone over to Lita's for a few games of canasta and some of Lita's goodies. Lita and Mina had escorted Amy there and were now escorting her back. She felt like some precious cargo that must not be disturbed under penalty of death.

Suddenly, someone stepped out of an alleyway. To no one's surprise, the figure was the enemy. Chiharu stood there, smirking at them.

"How long did you think you could hide?" Chiharu said smugly.

"Stay back, Amy!" Lita said, stepping in out in front. Mina got beside her.

"We'll fight you, Chiharu, stay back!"

Chiharu let out a long laugh. "Let's do it, then! Let's fucking fight!" Chiharu jumped back and threw her hand into the air.

Lita and Mina followed suit to transform, as did Amy. Then, all three of them were transformed and ready. Amy punched some things into her communicator and screamed into it, "Everyone! She's here! Downtown Mugen district!"

"Calling on your stupid little friends, I see!" taunted Chiharu. Her bleeding red eyes seemed to be on fire as she glared at them. She had a wild look on her face, and suddenly the other three Sailor Scouts found themselves very afraid.

"Don't you dare run away from us!" Lita yelled. "Stand up and fight us like a true Sailor Warrior!"

"You say it like we're all on the same plane, Sailor Jupiter," Chiharu spat the name out as though it tasted bad. "I'll let your friends get here, because I want to take you all down, one by one." Chiharu let out a long, tittering laugh. She sounded insane. Almost nothing like what anyone had described her as. "This time, I'll get the other one! Then he'll want me and _I can destroy you all!_ Won't he be so pleased with me!?" She began to cackle again.

The three others stared in shock. Who was this? She was hardly the same cool and collected Chiharu, and she sounded so different. They shared identical appalled expression and the mutual thought: _what the hell is going on here?_

"SUBMARINE REFLECTION!" Came Michiru's voice from the night. A blast of whitish-blue energy came screaming past the scouts, and Chiharu took the blow full on. She went sprawling, but she began to get up almost immediately, grinning evilly.

"There you are!" Chiharu called to them. "I was wondering when you'd show up!" She cackled again. "We're only missing a handful more, where could they be?"

As she spoke, the others came running up, and Serena was the only one who remained untransformed. They stood in a long line, all moving as though to protect Sailor Mercury. To their surprise, Chiharu still laughed at them.

"What's the matter, lost your crystal, Sailor Moon?!"

"Stop your taunting!" Mina screamed, "Either start fighting us or give us the damn crystal back!"

"Yes," Agreed Haruka, "No more of your idle banter!"

Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "Enough fooling around," she said in a low voice.

"Sailor Planet attack, you guys!" Serena shouted.

Everyone linked hands and closed their eyes. The group began to glow a brilliant whitish-glow, feeling the shared power course through them, and when they reopened their eyes, they too glowed with white power. "Sailor Planet _ATTACK!"_ They cried in unison.

Chiharu held her hands out in front of her and the crystal appeared, floating between them. She raised the crystal above her head and a white glow surrounded her. The crystal absorbed all energy created by the Planet Attack; every last bit of it.

Raye fell to her knees after the loss of energy, and Michiru fell not soon after. They were drained and mostly vulnerable, all of them trying to catch their breath.

Chiharu dropped her hands and caught the crystal when it fell, the white shield leaving her. "Are you all quite finished?" She said, not really a question. They looked damned finished to her. She surveyed their faces and saw that all of them looked scared—all but Sailor Pluto. She had a determined and set look on her face. Not for long, Chiharu thought.

"I can use this to my advantage. I can use the power this crystal houses. I can destroy you all! Your weak attacks have no effect on me now! The crystal allows its user to be immune to any attack from a guardian of the Earth's Solar System!"

"No! Damn it!!" Haruka screamed, rage etching her every word.

Tears filled Serena's eyes and she cried, "This is all my fault… and now I have to watch my friends die…"

Chiharu raised her hands, the crystal once again floating between them. "Say goodbye, _Sailor Bitches_!" She laughed hysterically and the crystal began to glow.

In that moment, all of those scouts watched, prepared to reach their demise, and that white glow glittered in all of their eyes. They were all in disbelief. The end. The end of the Sailor Scouts.

And as they were watching, the tips of Chiharu's gloves began to rip off, just shredding away, as if by some invisible knife, and she began to bleed from her fingertips. Her head shot up, a look of confusion on her face, and blood dripped onto her cheek. Shreds of her costume continued to be ripped away. Blood began to leak from her eyes, then her nose, then her mouth in steady streams. "What's going on?!" She cried in despair.

As the rest of them, Darien, Serena, Amy, Lita, Raye, Rini, and the others stared in astonishment, Sailor Pluto stepped forward, a triumphant expression on her face. "You forgot one little thing, Chiharu."

As the streams of blood ran down her face, Chiharu screamed bitterly, "_What, what the fuck did I fucking forget you stupid fucking bitch!?"_

Setsuna held out her gloved hands and revealed a black star-shaped crystal. "The only power that could protect you. The power of your own Sailor crystal. In your haste to escape, you foolishly dropped it. I have kept it with me ever since. In your greed, you tried to get the other Silver Imperium Crystal and you used the power of Sailor Moon's without the protection of your own. Since you never bothered to detransform, you never even knew that it was gone. And now you are destroying yourself."

The fire left Chiharu's eyes. "No!" she said, and then the pain hit her in engulfing waves. She screamed long and loud as her knees buckled. Her arms shook, and she finally sank to her knees, continuing to bleed. Her costume was a torn mess on her body. At last, the power of the crystal began too much, and she fell to the pavement like a rag doll. The crystal bounced down to the ground and rolled away. Serena ran out from the group, grabbed it quickly, and ran back to her friends. She held it clasped between both hands and held it against her chest.

Setsuna hurried over to where Chiharu lay and knelt beside her. "Chiharu?"

Chiharu blinked a few times, and Setsuna saw that tears were mixing with Chiharu's lifeblood. The blood seemed so bright red, even in the nighttime. Her own eyes stared at Setsuna and she said, "I'm going to die now."

Setsuna nodded, a grim but somehow sad expression on her face. "I just wanted him to be happy with me," Chiharu muttered, her voice a garbled mess of blood. "I wanted him to love me."

"We could—"

"No, you couldn't," Chiharu coughed, spraying blood. "I've done wrong. The power drove me crazy." Chiharu paused for a moment. "I am sorry, Sailor Pluto."

Setsuna nodded again. "It's all right."

Chiharu laughed; a pitiful sound without any humor. The wind, very cold, began to pick up. "No. Not really," She said softly. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. Setsuna placed Chiharu's crystal into one of her own bleeding hands. "I knew this was a bad dream," she told Setsuna as her eyes began to close for good. "It'll all be better when I wake up again."

With this said, Sailor Aeries died.

Setsuna bowed her head.

Someone suddenly appeared behind her and Setsuna stood quickly, ready to defend herself.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her. She relaxed a bit. The man had eyes that were as green as flashing radar. His hair was spiky and fell over his ears in a mess. He looked young and wore cloaks of black. "I'm King Gavin Darkraider of the Aeries Solar System." He held out a black-gloved hand to Setsuna when he introduced himself. Setsuna took it cautiously.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here before now." Gavin looked over Setsuna's shoulder and he saw Serena and Darien. They stood not too far apart from each other. He smiled gently and bowed to them. "Future King, Future Queen. I apologize for the disturbance. I have come to collect my Chiharu."

Serena and Darien both stepped forward, looking slightly confused. "I'm… I'm sorry," Serena fumbled for words, "she's…" She simply trailed off.

"Yes," Gavin answered sadly. "I knew she was dead before I arrived. I knew she would try to take the crystals." He turned his tired expression back to Setsuna. "She didn't know that I loved her anyway." Setsuna saw the tears in his eyes, but he turned away, hoping she hadn't seen.

They all watched as the king picked up his fallen, bloody warrior and lifted her from the pool of her own blood, still warm.

"Again, I apologize. She was too bold for her own good."

Serena and Darien nodded. They all stared at each other in silence for just a moment.

"You should have told her," Setsuna said finally.

Gavin looked at her.

"All you had to do was say, 'I love you'."

Gavin closed his eyes. He turned and began to walk down the street, and the further he walked, carrying his dead Chiharu, the more his image began to fade. Eventually, he was gone.


	14. We Could Change it All

**Author's Note**: Sorry about how long it took; I was away for five days, and next week I'll be gone for two weeks! But I'll be working on this while I'm gone and I'll update as soon as I get home!

* * *

Serena and Darien walked hand in hand down the street. Darien held a black umbrella over their heads, shielding them from the rain. People with the same idea walked around them. Most people were hurrying off to wherever it was they had to be. Darien and Serena walked at a slow, leisurely pace, each of them thinking their own thoughts.

Serena was thinking of ways to bring up the dream she'd been having to Darien. Normally, she supposed that she would be able to simply talk about it with no trouble at all, but since the whole Chiharu incident everyone had seemed a little out of sorts. Everyone seemed gloomy. The constant rain that had begun the night that King Gavin carried off Chiharu's limp and lifeless body added to the melancholy mood. Instead of chattering endlessly when she and Amy, Lita, Raye, and Mina all got together, they just sat in silence, much as Darien and herself were doing now.

Darien did not only look down in the dumps, but he seemed far away. He simply wasn't himself.

He knew that Serena noticed, of course she did, but he didn't think he could bring himself to account for it. What he had seen happen to Chiharu was a real downer, but worse were the things that Setsuna had said. She had not meant the words unkindly, but Darien had seen the tears making trails down Gavin's face. Darien did not think anyone else really felt what Setsuna was saying, exception Gavin and himself and maybe Michiru.

Michiru, he knew, had not slept in the four days since the end of it. She confessed to him over coffee that she would sit in the kitchen at the table, sometimes with a cup of tea and always with an oversized cashmere sweater on, and just stare into the darkness, thinking. She told him that she stayed like this until she heard Haruka getting up and going to get in the shower. Michiru would put on the coffee and have breakfast like normal. She also confessed with misty eyes that Haruka did not seem to notice. The two had spent the rest of the time in complete silence, Michiru staring down at the table's surface, fighting tears, and Darien examining her red-rimmed eyes and her tired face.

Darien observed that there was not too much change in either Serena or Rini, who both seemed to be in more-or-less better spirits. Everyone was slowly coming out of the funk, save Michiru, who seemed tortured by other demons she would not speak of to anyone.

"Darien?" Serena's voice, a bit timid, shattered him out of his thoughts and he looked down at her with a smile.

"What is it, Bunny?"

She bit her lower lip. "I've been having this weird dream," she came out with. Darien nodded.

"Go on," he pressed.

"Well, it's really more of a nightmare than anything else," she then proceeded to tell him all about it, and concluded with her visit to Raye's. He didn't look at her as she spoke to him, and she continuously glanced up to read his expression; was disheartened to find that she could not. Raye had told her distinctly that Darien would not know anything of this, she had confirmed that Darien would not remember. However, Serena still felt a strong and curious need to know if he could at least give her insight.

Darien digested this. Serena was inquiring about Setsuna and she didn't even know it. By the way things sounded, Raye was on the right track, and a lot closer to home than she suspected. Darien stopped walking and looked down at Serena. He reflected on how young she was. He reflected on how naïve. Serena was beautiful and loving when she stepped up to the plate, but truthfully he did not think she was old enough to really comprehend many things.

If he went so far as to try to explain that there was another woman and her name was Setsuna, Setsuna with the utterly soft skin and the perfectly proportioned body, the woman whose heart was bigger than any he'd ever known, the woman who smiled with love pouring from every grin was once his lover, Serena would cry. He knew she would cry and be upset that she was not his first love. She had been an only child on the moon, and not only that, but a child sheltered from the rest of the world but for parties and galas the moon kingdom so frequently held. Darien wanted to venture so far as to say that she knew little of true love. She had only ever been with him.

Aside from the rest, Serena was the least bit selfish when it came to Darien. For one of her friends, Serena would give her life, but she would not give her man. She would fight against all of them at once if they even hinted that they had a little crush on him. Darien could rarely take Rini out for treats without getting an earful from Serena, though he quite frequently spent a large sum of money on her.

He had considered all these things quickly in the brief space of half a minute, all the while looking down into her hopeful blue eyes.

"I don't remember," he lied. For all the lying that Setsuna had done to him for years, this lie seemed the biggest of all. He felt a pang of guilt as Serena's contorted expression relaxed and her lips slipped into a smile.

"It's okay," she told him, her tone that of a mother who decided that her son didn't really eat any ice cream and spoil his dinner, after all. She spoke as though she were giving him some great favor by forgetting the whole thing. "It was nothing but a dream, and if you don't remember, it's probably better, right?"

Darien managed a smile that didn't even seem false to him, and he said, "Right, Serena. Absolutely right."

=-=

Michiru's hands trembled and coffee sloshed over the side and splashed onto the kitchen table. She did not really mind. Silly little things like a bit of spilled coffee at three in the morning seemed very trivial and far away. Michiru's eyes felt the sting of tears_. What's happening to me?_ she thought. Her inner voice sounded a bit too much like what came scratching from her actual vocal chords: something that was so rough and hoarse it could be called abrasive, the voice of a woman on the edge of tears. Michiru could not stop the shakes and she could not stop the trembling voice she now possessed.

The worst thing of all was probably that no one noticed. Or, rather, she thought a bit bitterly, that everyone is pretending not to notice. She recognized that something was gravely wrong with her. She had not slept for five days. Michiru downed coffee at all hours, especially when doing so seemed most inappropriate.

_What is going on? Someone help me, please!_

Senseless.

Michiru brought the shaking cup to her lips and managed to steady it a bit to take a long drink.

She had gone out with Darien for coffee as a futile attempt to scream out to someone in hopes that they would see what was so wrong with her. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. Michiru thought, perhaps, that the problem could just be the apartment. The other reason why she seemed to be destroying herself could also simply be Haruka. Haruka had simply dropped off the edge of the world, hardly speaking two words to Michiru.

In addition, Haruka had been staying out later and _later_.

In fact, Michiru knew that Haruka was not home right now.

Michiru sighed, her breath coming out in hitches. She missed the days when Haruka had been disguised as a man. Michiru had felt so much more comfortable, then. Now, Haruka was getting boyfriends and other friends, big groups that she would go out to race cars with and hop from bar to bar with. Haruka had so many friends, and Michiru had no one to hug when she was alone and feeling like _this_, horribly used up in many ways.

She knew she had to leave, but she didn't know where to go.

=-=

For the second time in a not-very-long space, someone was banging on Setsuna's apartment door at an odd hour in the night. She yawned and assured whomever it was that she was coming, coming, and the moment the door was thrust open, she felt herself being swept into Darien's arms. He pressed her against his chest, barely leaving room enough for her to put her own arms around him. He held her head with one hand and his other arm slipped across her shoulders. Darien leaned down and forwards a tiny bit to put his face next to hers.

They stood in silence that way for long minutes, and she realized finally, in a bit of a surprised haze, that Darien was crying.

"Darien?" She whispered, trying to overcome her surprise at everything that had been thrust upon her so quickly. "Darien, are you all right?"

"I love you," he told her softly. "I love you so much, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think. Serena, she wanted to… to do things with me and I couldn't, Setsuna, because you were all I could think about. She left and now she's angry and I need you so bad!"

He held her tighter and dissolved into quiet sobs. Setsuna closed her eyes and rubbed his back with her right hand. "Oh, Darien," she sighed. She tried to quiet him, and eventually he calmed a bit. Setsuna shut the door by sticking out her leg and just barely snatched the door and kicked it shut. She led him to the couch and sat him down. Setsuna turned one of her living room lamps on at a dim setting and then she went to her bedroom and put on her oversized black satin robe that trailed behind her a little when she walked.

Setsuna sat down next to him, close enough so they were touching, able to give him a hug when it was needed.

She had shed her own tears since he had been with her. Being without him now seemed to take a lot of getting used to, but she knew she could do so, and had been successfully for the past few days. Setsuna was trying to let things slip back into place, but they obviously weren't slipping as smoothly as she had hoped. Her brow furrowed in concern. She lifted a hand and stroked the hair on the back of his head.

"Are you okay?"

He didn't nod or shake his head. He just continued to cry. "I don't know if I can go on without you. I love you, Setsuna. I feel so torn between what's right and wrong, between the two that I love. I know that I can't have you both, and I can't deny Serena. I tried to deny you and I couldn't," Darien admitted miserably.

"It will become easier with time."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Darien took her roughly by the shoulders and suddenly their faces were less than four inches away. "Don't you dare tell me that!" He snapped. "Don't you even think I want to leave you, or forget you! They took you from me once! Don't passively sit by and let it happen again!" Then, Darien kissed her with such an amount of passion that she was almost too overwhelmed to meet with her own. Darien's warm tears touched her cheeks, and just that simple thing caused her own eyes to fill up with tears. He was so right.

He grabbed her hand and held it to his face. His cool forehead touched hers. "We could change everything, Setsuna," Darien whispered to her. An incredible endless love flowed out from him and through her as he spoke to her. The feeling was something so great that she thought her heart might burst with it, but the touch of his hand and the feel of his body assured her that it wouldn't. "We could run away together and rewrite the entire flow and ebb of time. What stops us, Setsuna?"

Setsuna did not want to answer, however she knew she had to. "Chibiusa," her voice came out breathy and strange, even to her own ears.

Darien's other hand was suddenly on her stomach, thin and lovely. "I know a secret," he whispered, looking into her eyes. He saw a light there, an unmistakable and beautiful light. A light that shone just as brightly in the eyes of Rini.

=-=


	15. The Gift that Keeps on Giving

=-=

Setsuna's sweet breath came out long and shuddery. Darien couldn't tell if she was fighting off tears or was welcoming the relief that someone else knew the secret. An unexpected flood of tears spilled over his eyelids but he smiled through them; they were tears of happiness. "Rini is our child, Setsuna. Rini is ours."

"But she… Neo Queen Serenity…"

"I know," he whispered, and held her close. "Don't let that matter right now. Just focus on us." He massaged her stomach lightly. "We could take her and run away, if we wanted. Forget that other future. I don't really want to be a king, anyway."

Setsuna laughed the laughter of those who are crying and trying not to. Laughing was not an easy thing, but because he was trying to make her feel better, she was somehow able to do it.

"I see the way you look at her, Setsuna. That's just something you can't ignore. I see the way you hold her extra close. I see the way she runs to you. And the truth is, Setsuna, I try to see Serena in Rini and I just _can't do it_. I can only see you."

"Darien," Setsuna whispered, "please stop. It hurts far too much."

"Oh, Setsuna. I love you."

He knew, and it was comforting. Darien had figured out their secret. She didn't know how he must have done it, but with memories often come truth, as Setsuna had found out herself. Setsuna knew how the future would go, and she assumed that he knew, too.

Setsuna had foreseen all of the events as though they were a movie.

Neo Queen Serenity's child would be born dead, just as Endymion would know it would, but he would make the exchange quickly and quietly. Setsuna's living baby girl for the Queen's dead one. In the future, the King and Queen would be trying so hard to have children. The conceptions would happen at just the right time. Setsuna's star seed that would have been resting like a ghost inside of her for so long blooming to life the exact date that Queen Serenity's would.

The future Setsuna went through the rough pregnancy alone. She was easily able to hide it from the rest of the world, being alone in the Pluto Castle. She did not communicate much, only when she had to, and that was easy enough.

She had sent a private and extremely confidential message to King Endymion as soon as she discovered that the star seed had finally blossomed, hoping that he had not forgotten her. Weeks passed and she received no answer. Setsuna became increasingly disheartened.

One night, Setsuna was sitting alone and sobbing, her cries echoing around her throughout the large and horrendously empty castle. She felt sick and tired and alone. She was too pale and she had lost weight. Setsuna felt absolutely miserable, and while she was a guardian of the proud new Silver Millennium and the Gates of Time as well, she could not help but cry.

King Endymion came that night. He opened the doors and stood there for a long time, looking at her as she sat in the ivory chair beside the single candle, crying her desperate tears. His heart immediately melted. His poor lost darling, Setsuna, sitting alone and pregnant with no one in the world. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, startled. He saw that her eyes were red and her face streaked with tears.

Setsuna collapsed into his arms and he held her close, much as he was doing right at the moment.

They discussed the situation. King Endymion knew that Serenity's baby was dead inside of her, but he told Setsuna that he could play it off. He also promised her that he would be here for her as much as he could. Setsuna accepted the terms as they were. There was nothing else she could do.

So, she spent her time getting pregnant, yet she had to make no preparations for the baby. Setsuna would fly into mad bouts of depression over such things, and no one knew at all. When Haruka and Michiru would contact her to ask her about how things were, she smiled and told them, "All clear." They would smile in return and then they would go back to their business.

Labor was the worst of it. She had to go through it alone, and it was a hellish time. There were moments when she thought she was going to just die there. She would imagine that Queen Serenity was a lot more comfortable than herself, and that King Endymion was there to hold her hand, and also that she would have Setsuna's baby.

Setsuna had burst into tears, drenched in sweat. She heard the doors slam open from somewhere off in the distance, unimportant. Greyness took over her vision for a moment, and she heard the doors to her bedroom fly open. Footsteps. Someone held her hand then and told her everything would be all right once she was out of it, just a little further.

She didn't know it was finally over when it was. She could not make much sense of what was being said to her. Setsuna drifted.

When she woke up, the first sense she got was one of being horribly empty inside. Setsuna felt clean and most of all exhausted. Her belly ached dimly. Setsuna realized that she was in her own bedroom. She had been washed and her sheets had been changed and it was all finally over.

A cool hand touched her forehead. "It worked," a voice said to her softly. "Everyone believes it."

Setsuna felt her stomach lurch and she groaned. "It's bad," she said in reply. She sounded very weak. "Please hold me," she begged, tears filling her eyes. King Endymion did as she requested with no hesitation whatsoever. He held her while she cried into his chest, and over and over, he kept thinking, _what have I done to you? Setsuna, what have I done to you?_

All of that had the present Setsuna foreseen. She had seen herself during the miserable time, crying. Giving up herself so that the King and Queen may have a child. The very same Rini who was asleep at Serena's house now, still thinking that Serena was her mother.

Darien was asking her if she wanted to change it. Take her and run. Never look back. Erase everything they knew and start again. Here she was, thinking of the future as though it were the past because Rini was already here and now. Did she want to start over? How could they? A wrong thread in time was being attempted. A thread that wasn't chosen, but a thread they now had the freedom to select. Darien was asking Setsuna to play god. Run away. Run away together.

"Don't you care about her? About Serena?"

Darien frowned. "I love her, Setsuna. I've loved her since the Moon Kingdom was destroyed. She gave it all away for me. But what about you? What about what you sacrificed? What about what you will sacrifice for me in the future?" He held her shoulders tightly, his eyes staring deeply into hers. "_You will have to keep on giving_."

She looked down and away from him.

"Don't you dare tell me you're okay with that!" Darien exclaimed, shaking her a little.

"_It's the way things are supposed to be_!"

"How can you say that?! You can't possibly believe that you're being selfish! You've known all along! All this time you've known all the secrets and you're trying to tell me that you're okay with it!" Two tears coursed down his cheeks, tears for love of her, tears of unbelieving for what Setsuna had done and was willing to continue doing.

They stared at each other in complete silence, thoughts blazing through their heads at light speed.

"You must choose Serena," Setsuna whispered. "I can make it easier on you. Michiru can cast the spell on you so that you forget."

"Is that what I chose in the future life?!" Darien spat. "Is that what I chose? Just to forget you until you told me you were pregnant?! Am I afraid she'll find out in the future? Is that it?!"

Setsuna's expression hardened with her tone of voice. "Yes. That is what you chose."

Darien seemed to melt a little, he sank into his seat and lessened his grip on her shoulders. "I disgust myself."

"But did you make the wrong choice?" Setsuna asked, her eyes filling with tears. "Maybe it's better that way."

Darien looked at her defenselessly. "No," he said softly, his voice cracking.

"Yes," she said, her voice even softer. The tears spilled over her eyelids and refused to stop coming.


	16. At Least a Thousand Years

They were both silent. The sound of their breathing wasn't even loud enough to fill the vacancy between them. She stared at him, and he looked around the room, searching for the answers to the questions that bound them. Setsuna knew he could look nowhere for the answers but deep in his own heart. He didn't speak for long moments, and finally she said, "I can't let this continue, no matter what."

Darien turned his tear-filled eyes to her. His lips were slightly parted, as though he couldn't think of what to say.

"I've been wanting to tell you the truth. Now I have told you, and now you want me to change things. You want me to wave my magic wand and make it all go away. This isn't our decision to make."

"There's something else, isn't there?"

Setsuna nodded. "Michiru is part of it. She must be going crazy right now. Since she also holds power, with her mirror, she's suffering the effects because she knows about this. She knows the secrets, and she's suffering. Her own power is slowly destroying her."

Darien shook his head. "Can we stop it?"

"We have to right things," Setsuna began to speak rapidly, her voice a whisper. "We have to stop all of this. Pretend it never happened. Michiru may go insane with it if we do not stop it."

"Stop us." He said, looking right at her. He stared at her as though she were the only person in the world. Time had frozen outside of them. Everything around them was made of ice, and if either of them looked away from each other, the whole world would shatter to pieces, and Setsuna was sure that the noise would be very, very loud.

"Yes," she whispered, almost expecting to see her breath come swirling from her lips. Ice. "Stop us."

Darien's grey eyes were very, very cold. They matched the ice world in which the two were trapped. The whole world, encased in ice. If only such things could be done, that was the way Setsuna would have it. Everyone else would freeze, and only Setsuna and Darien would remain.

Suddenly, the door was thrust open and Setsuna's ice-world shattered with the sound of Serena's accusatory voice.

"I knew it! You—_and her_!" Serena's blue eyes were wild and blazing. Her hair was falling out of its traditional meatball-style. She pointed a trembling finger at each of them. Serena's mouth was open in an angry snarl. Darien stood, but said nothing. Setsuna did not move. She could almost see broken shards of ice flying past her head, glinting and glittering in the light of Serena's fiery rage. "Darien you _cheater! You liar_!" Serena's high-pitched voice continued to scream, her finger continued to point, and the world continued to explode.

"No!" Darien shouted. He didn't even sound like he was trying to defend himself. He was more angry than anything else. Setsuna still could not move. "It's not what you think, Serena! Are you insane?"

"You lie!" Serena insisted. She sounded to Setsuna like some kind of fire alarm. Screeching and screeching. "You lie! Why should I ever believe you?!" Serena's ferocious gaze met Setsuna's and the finger was aimed directly at Setsuna's heart. "In her pajamas!" Serena screamed. "_In her pajamas_!"

"I came here to see her! I trust her! Setsuna is my friend!" Darien sounded so unbearably reasonable in the madness. Everything still happened too quickly. Setsuna no longer felt like she was a part of the things going on. She felt like a bystander. She felt innocent.

"Trust!" Serena hollered. She might have been trying to scoff, but her voice had no different tones. Just one single pitch. _She'll kill me_, Setsuna thought, and on the heels of that: _Good._

"Yes. I have friends just like you have them. Friends to talk to." Darien spoke calmly now, and he took a few steps toward her, one arm reaching out to her. Serena did not look away from Setsuna, but she lowered her finger slightly.

Setsuna's mouthed moved, and what came out was, "He was crying. He was upset. We were talking." A little stupid-sounding, but not bad.

The heat left Serena's eyes, then, and she seemed to crumple a little. "You're… you're not…" She didn't even complete the sentence.

"Of course not," Darien answered immediately. "Not in a thousand years."

_At _least_ a thousand_, Setsuna thought, and almost burst into wild, hysterical laughter. She managed to contain herself. Setsuna watched as Darien put an arm around Serena.

"Let's go home," he said to her. Serena nodded, looking as though she were confused and unable to speak.

"I'm sorry," she muttered to Setsuna. Darien looked over his shoulder at Setsuna, he gave her a look to prove that he was coming back. Setsuna knew that was one of the last knowing looks he'd ever give her. One of their last loving moments before she called Michiru and they set things straight.


	17. What was fair?

(**Author's Note:** Keep in mind: I'm not trying to offend anyone. I have indeed always watched Sailor Moon and read all the mangas. I saw in both the series something beautiful between Darien and Setsuna. There are instances in the show and in the manga that captured me, and I saw potential in them. I also think that Serena does not deserve all of the attention all of the time. This is my opinion and nothing more. I just want people to enjoy the story, and I'm writing for those of you who do. Thank you for your continued support, even when I was starting to give up on it. I'm writing it for you. :) –Imogene)

As hard as he tried, Darien could find no sympathy for her. He kept trying to step out and look at her as the Hero of the Silver Millennium, Neo Queen Serenity, the one who always gave up everything for everyone, but he couldn't see her as such. He kept seeing a whiny girl who often stole the glory. She was sitting in the seat beside him, crying, but he could find no comfort for her. Darien clutched the leather steering wheel harder, his knuckles slowly whitening.

Darien tried to shove the thoughts from his mind, but they returned like a poison. He felt almost as though he was neglecting his duty as King Endymion to comfort and love Serena, but there was nothing. He was enraged, thoughts flying. Even though the Sailor Scouts would and had often brought themselves to death or almost to death, the only thing that seemed to matter was when Serena herself gave up all for the Scouts. Did it matter what they did? Did it matter that Sailor Pluto had once stopped time and died slowly as her heart slowed, and slowed and finally stopped?

Did it matter that Princess Serena cowered in fear as her friends one by one died before Queen Beryl, and then finally Darien himself, where she killed herself in cowardice? Suicide is never an answer, never an excuse. Serena's mother Serenity was the one who stepped up and foiled the Negaverse. Queen Serenity was the one who gave Serena and everyone else another chance to live. If she was good at anything, Sailor Moon was good at putting everyone in danger for the good of one life. Something that seemed honorable was really insanity. Something that people saw as beautiful, he was seeing as horrible now. And who were the ones that pulled through in the end? Sailor Scouts. They were the backbone of Sailor Moon, not the other way around.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye. She was staring down at her hands, sitting limply like dead white birds in her lap. Tears rolled down her cheeks and plopped down onto her coat. Darien softened a little and asked her,

"What were you expecting to find?" 

Serena did not reply right away, and Darien thought that that was okay. He almost didn't want her to reply. He didn't think he wanted to hear whatever lame thing she had to say.

_Stop being unfair_, he scolded himself. But the thing was, he couldn't. What was fair, anyway? Was what Setsuna had to go through fair? Was what Serena must have had to go through now fair?

"Part of me wanted you to be kissing."

His grip tightened again. He said nothing. He longed to open his mouth and tell her everything. And oddly enough, part of him longed to apologize. He wondered if maybe he could apologize and run away. Maybe he would even run away from Setsuna.

She let out a shuddery, pitiful sigh. "I wanted you to be with her, doing something. Then, I thought I wouldn't be so confused. If that were the answer, then I could justify why I feel the way I do toward you." Her voice was low, and soft. Darien almost had to strain to hear her words, but her meaning was loud and clear.

"You think I don't notice it," Serena continued, "but I've seen the way you look at Setsuna. I don't blame you, either. She's a very sad case."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darien asked through gritted teeth. He was now furious with her. He almost wanted to shake her.

"After all, Darien… she has to stand out at the Time Gates, all alone. By herself, without a person in the world," Serena's voice was filled with bitter undertones. "I know you're a little in love with her. I know you want to hold her. I know you want her to feel better about her cold, sad life." Serena's expression was becoming increasingly hateful. She sounded angry enough to make Darien forget his own anger as he listened to her in dawning realization. "I'm sending her back to the Time Gates. That will fix all of this."

Darien's foot instinctively slammed on the break. They were about two blocks from Serena's house. He turned his head and looked at her fully, now. He stared in complete disbelief, and his heart sank deep into his chest.

Serena turned her head and looked at him, a defiant sort of grin on her tear-streaked face. "That's my solution to the problem. We aren't even supposed to be near them, Darien. The Outer Scouts are exactly that, outer scouts. They came to help us, and they've finished their duties. They should go back to their palaces, now. Setsuna will be farthest away, and that's the best way to do things."

Darien couldn't take his eyes off her. Worst of all was that she wasn't being evil. Serena was just being protective of their love. It wasn't malice he saw in her eyes, but it was love, and somehow, that was the worst thing of all. Setsuna had lied to him. Of course she lied. She wasn't allowed to tell him or she would have gotten in trouble. It wasn't his choice, after all. Serena sent her away. It had been Serena who had taken care of it, and it would probably be Raye who cast the spell and made him forget.

"I love you, Darien," Serena whispered. "This is for the best." She opened the door to the car. "You may say goodbye to her tonight. I'm going to talk to the others tomorrow morning, and then Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna are going back to their rightful places. Goodnight, Darien." She kissed him slowly on the lips, even though he didn't kiss back. Then she got out of the car, shut the door on him, and walked off toward her house. She no longer felt pity for herself, in fact, she was proud of the decision. She had seen wrong and now she took steps to right it. Setsuna would be far, far away, and Darien wouldn't be able to love her anymore.

Darien sat in his car, unbelieving. So much had happened in such a little space of time. He'd been on an overemotional roller coaster which ending with a train wreck. He put his face in his hands and wept, and he didn't care what would become of him now. He'd never even know the difference.


	18. We Can Make It

Setsuna frantically went to the phone almost as soon as the door was shut behind Darien and Serena. She had a strong feeling that Michiru was still awake. Setsuna quickly dialed the number and held the phone to her ear. She listened to the ringing on the other end for what seemed like an hour. Finally, she heard Michiru's groggy voice,

"Hello, Haruka?"

"No, no," Setsuna said a little breathlessly, "it's me, it's Setsuna."

Silence.

"Stay with me, Michiru. This will all be over soon. The timeline is going to straighten itself out, I promise. It's happening already, but you need to come over here so we can finish it. Everything will be back to normal," Setsuna tried to sound assuring. Michiru was suffering because she confessed to Setsuna about what she knew of the past. She was wakeful, and she must have thought she was going insane.

"Hm. Well. I don't think I can get up," Michiru replied quietly. Beneath her tired voice, Setsuna heard relief.

"I'm coming to get you. We have about five minutes before he comes back. Let's correct this, Michiru. You'll feel much better in the morning."

"Will I?"

Setsuna paused a moment. She could hear Michiru crying, and it was almost enough to break Setsuna herself down, but Setsuna promised herself that she was finished crying. "Promise." She hung up the phone, rushed to her bedroom, and she changed into simple jeans and a tee shirt. In a few moments, Setsuna was out of the house and driving to Michiru's apartment. When she arrived, she was not surprised to see that Haruka's car was gone.

Michiru was waiting for Setsuna at the door, wrapped in her coat with her hair tied back. She hurried to that car. Setsuna couldn't look her in the face. Michiru was completely not herself, dark circles under eyes, cheeks sunken. "I managed to get up," she told Setsuna.

Setsuna threw the car into drive and tore away from the curb. "What spurred you on?" She asked, though she already knew the answer.

"I coughed blood," Michiru told her. "A lot of it."

"It will be the last time."

They arrived at Setsuna's apartment in record timing. Setsuna helped Michiru out of the car and held onto her arm as they walked up the stairs. She explained to Michiru what was going to happen. "We just have to put the old spell on him," Setsuna said. "And then everything will right itself."

"She came in on you?" Michiru asked, appalled, as Setsuna unlocked her apartment door. She took a deep breath.

"Yes. That was what made me decide that it's all over for us." Setsuna opened the door and pulled Michiru into the apartment. "Besides, I couldn't imagine what you were going through."

"You couldn't," Michiru muttered, and she flopped down onto Setsuna's couch, shutting her purpling eyelids tightly. This moment would be the end of her sickness and sleeplessness. It would be the end of her confused thoughts and her psychosis. However, Michiru could see behind Setsuna's hardened disposition. Setsuna was despairing deep in her heart, and she wasn't showing it. She refused to be brought down. Setsuna hadn't yet shed a tear that Michiru knew of, and just thinking of it made Michiru's heart bleed for Setsuna.

"He'll be here any—" Setsuna started to speak when the door opened, and there was Darien. His face was wet with tears, and he looked as ragged as Michiru felt. The three of them stared at each other in silence for long moments, and Setsuna began to feel the ice creeping over the world again. "Darien… what is it?"

He looked at her a long time, and then finally stepped into the room. Darien placed his hands on Setsuna's shoulders and she stared into his eyes. Her face was riddled with uncertainty, but Michiru could see the knowing in her eyes. Setsuna had been expecting this time to come. Michiru felt a wrench grip her heart tightly. "You're going back," he said gently.

"Going…"

"The Gates of Time, Setsuna," his lower lip began to tremble, and his right eyebrow twitched. "You're going back. Serena's sending you back." Darien slowly lowered his head to her shoulder as his sobs overtook him, and he hugged her tightly with both arms. He held her to his chest, one hand in her hair, holding her head, and the other arm around her back, holding her right up against him. Darien tried to memorize the feel of her body, the beat of her heart. He tried desperately to commit to memory the sensation of her silky smooth hair in his hand. He wanted his heart to remember what Setsuna felt like. Darien wanted his heart to remember holding Setsuna for him, even though his mind would no longer be able to. If he could hold on to this, he knew that losing her forever wouldn't be so bad. Darien's shoulders shook as he cried against her, trying to burn every curve deep into his heart. "Not forever," he whispered to her, and he felt her shoulders hitch as she tried to contain her own sobs. "It's not forever, Setsuna."

Michiru was standing, now, her hands clutched together at her chest, her heart beating loudly in her ears. Everything was coming together very, very quickly for her, and she was suddenly filled with despair, no longer for her own sorry condition, but for that of Setsuna and Darien.

Darien pulled back from Setsuna a little bit and he said, "Michiru and Haruka, you're going back, too."

Michiru's mouth fell open.

"Serena's excuse is going to be that Chiharu arrived at Earth because the Outer Gates weren't being guarded. She's going to say that anyone else could come in from the Time Gates as well, as long as no one is guarding. There will be no way to change her mind. This did it."

"She can't…" Michiru whispered listlessly. "She can't just—"

"She can," Setsuna said softly. "She can, and now she's going to." The three of them just stood in silence. Michiru didn't even realize that she was already beginning to feel better. The shock began to set into her, and she surprised herself by feeling angry. Serena could do whatever she wanted, and now Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna would be punished for something Serena wasn't even sure was going on. She was almost furious with Serena, and she said aloud, "Let's go back on our own, Setsuna."

Setsuna glanced at Darien, then back at Michiru.

"Let's just leave. I can go home and explain to Haruka," her words began to come more and more rapidly as she spoke, "then we can just go back. It may be lonely, and it may be quiet, but she won't get what she wants!" Then Michiru broke down into sobs. "I don't want to leave," she said, her voice barely even coming out. "I love it here! I love being on Earth where there are other people! I love being here with my friends, I don't want to go back out there!"

Setsuna squeezed Darien's hand, then she went over to Michiru and hugged her. "It's our duty, Michiru."

"I know, I know… but I can't help being sad."

"Me neither."

"Haruka will be angry."

"Yes, but only for awhile. She knows her duty, as well." Setsuna pulled back from Michiru and offered her a small smile. "We can get through it."


	19. Not the End

Author's Note: Please forgive spelling errors and such. I was forced to type this in WordPad on a laptop on an airplane, and I didn't have much time to edit. Forgive me!

"What's this all about, Serena?" Raye asked sleepily. Saturday was her day for sleeping in, lazing the day away, as her grandfather closed the temple on Saturdays. However, this morning, Serena had called a meeting of the Sailor Scouts. Raye thought that it must have been important, or else Serena would have been lazing about, as well.

"I'll tell you all in a moment," Serena said quietly. She seemed very serene and oddly composed. Looking at her, one might suppose that she had gathered the soldiers together to dicuss the weather over a few cups of green tea. The girls new better. Beneath the hollow disposition, there was a much deeper meaning than any of them really wanted to know.

Haruka stood with her arms crossed over her chest, looking away from all of them, trying to avert her gaze to anything but a pair of eyes. Michiru's head hung, her hair falling into her face. She looked much better than she had the previous night, Setsuna duly noted, but her fear and despair rang true. Darien looked rather distraught, but he tried to hide it without much success.

Setsuna stood with her chin up. She and Darien had been preparing themselves for the consequences the night before. They had been talking about what was to come and simply passing time until the hour struck the time when they would have to say goodbye.

The tension in Raye's small bedchamber was almost unbearable.

Serena looked at each of the girls in the room very slowly, her unusally sharp gaze piercing into each of them after the first. Finally, she rested her knowing gaze on Darien, sending him a look that said quite plainly, _This is for the best, my love. And I do love you._

I know you do, his dark eyes replied, and the thought struck sheer sadness into his heart. Sadness and something else not so very far from horror. He glanced at Setsuna. She gave him a small, warm smile for which he was incredibly grateful.

"Chiharu was a menace who slipped in through the unguarded galaxy gates," Serena began. She spoke slowly, with much emphasis on every word. "I have decided that in order to protect the Galaxy from future attack, we must return the Outer Sailor Scouts to their posts."

Silence. Serena continued.

"Chiharu's entry into the Galaxy could have been well prevented, had the Sailor Scouts indeed been where they should have. They must go back. And Sailor Pluto will return to the Gates of Time."

Not a single person spoke. Those who directly affected had already known of their fate, and felt their was nothing left to say. All of them except Haruka. Her fists clenched, she said, "That's noble, Sailor Moon," her voice etched with bitter undertones of hatred. "What a noble decision of our Future Queen."

"I don't mind your blatant disrespect, Sailor Uranus," Serena said, a small, smug smile upon her pink lips. "It is to be expected, as you're being rudely ripped from your home and sent away. I understand, don't worry."

Haruka said no more, only gritted her teeth and grasped Michiru's arm.

"No!" Chibiusa suddenly cried. She broke from Amy's arms, with whom she had been sitting with, and ran to Setsuna. "Luna P! You can't go!"

Setsuna swept Chibiusa into her arms and hugged her tightly, doing all she could to ward off the threatening tears. "I must, Chibiusa. I have to."

"Come on, now, Rini. Say goodbye," Serena said quietly, her eyes closed.

"No!" Chibiusa began to wail, tears sliding down her cheeks. "You can't send her away, Serena! You can't!!"

Darien choked back a sob.

"Chibiusa..." Setsuna sturggled to pry her off and set her on the ground gently. Chibiusa protested vehemently with her cries.

"Let's go," Michiru said, snapping her head up. "Quickly." Haruka led her away, off toward the dock, where they would be departing. Setsuna followed closely.

"Luna P, NO!!" Chibiusa began to run after her, but Lita, who had not said a word through any of it, mostly in shock, grabbed her quickly and held her. Chibiusa began to scream. "Luna P! Luna P!! Luna P!!!!"

Setesuna, Michiru, and Haruka broke into a run toward the lake that stood in the middle of town. They darted down the streets in the suburbs, leading to the park. The three of them ran as fast as their feet would take them, and not one of the girls turned her head to look behind her. They reached the dock, all of them breathing heavily.

"Take it away, Setsuna," Haruka said breathlessly. Setsuna nodded. She held out her hand, and slowly, the Staff of Time glittered to visibility in her hand.

"Gates of Time!" She called into the daylight. Michiru stared off, looking listless.

"Setsuna!" Darien's voice. He was getting out of the car and starting toward them.

Setsuna ignored him. "Father Chronos, guardian of time, guide us to our rightful places," Setsuna could hear Dairen's voice calling out her name, getting closer and closer. Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna joined hands. "Take us back to our posts!" Just as Darien reached them, they were englufed in a blinding white light, and he was forced to shield his face from the brightness with his arm. When the light faded, the girls were gone. They had vanished from sight. Darien had almost been able to brush the sleeve of Setsuna's shirt. He had almost felt the fabric slip thorugh his fingers. In fact, he thought he may have. She was gone, just like that. Setsuna had been taken away from him in a matter of minutes.

Chibiusa had been throwing a fit, and Dairen had watched the three Outer Sailor Scouts run off. He had stared after them a long time, even after Chibiusa had quieted a little and the other girls talked in hushed tones, trying to comfort her. While they did this, Dairen had jumped into his car and sped off to find Setsuna. As he had been getting into the car, he heard Mina call, "Darien!" and Serena had replied with, "Let him go," that same knowing tone in her voice that was somehow so terrible to him.

He stared now at the spot where three of the most noble warriors in the galaxy had been standing a mere moment before. It was over. The entire ordeal, all that they had worried about was over. Setsuna had lied to him, yet he didn't blame her. She couldn't tell her secrets. She spoke in riddles, and when she couldn't solve the riddle herself, she was forced to lie about them. The three of them were being practically banished because of what Serena knew was going on.

Oh, she may have pretended not to know, pretended to be unsure, but a woman's intuition was much stronger than Serena may have let on. She was proving it now by sending them away. Would she have gone to such extremities had she been so unknowing? Probably not. _No,_ Darien thought, _the answer is definitely not._ Serena didn't just make decisions, and she always gave each at least a fraction of thought before making it. And here, she had made her choice, and she had exercised her power in the way that she had seen fit to do so. Sacrificing the good of many for the good of one, that was the way of the new Queen of the Silver Millennium.

Darien knew what he could do. He knew that there were more options. However, why would he throw his life away now? What would be the good of doing such a thing? Why had he come out here in the first place? Had he thought he would be able to stop Setsuna? Had he really thought he could chase her to the ends of the Universe? Those lonely Gates of Time, where she would stand guard and prevent the so-called invaders of time? What, really, had he been thinking?

Let your heart guide you, his mind scoffed. A bitter additive to the bitter end of he and Setsuna's love.

No... not the end.


	20. I promise

"I know you're not talking to me, Rini, but goodnight!" Serena's voice floated up through the floorboards of the trapdoor to Rini's room. Rini did not respond to her voice. She just sat on her bed, listening. After a moment, Rini heard the sound of Serena's retreating footsteps. _Good,_ she thought, _go away._

Rini clutched the tube of soft pink lipstick that belonged to Setsuna. The lipstick was one of the few little things that Setsuna had given her or that she had secretly taken from Setsuna's apartment. Rini reached under her bed and pulled out a flowered box that Michiru had given her. Rini smiled and took the key on the chain around her neck and slowly put it into the lock on the box. She heard a little click as she turned the key, and then she removed it and opened the box. Inside, there was an array of different things: An earring that Setsuna had left at Serena's house once, a rabbit ring of Serena's, Rini's Time Key, two of Haruka's racing badges, and a pretty crystal lid to a perfume bottle Rini had swiped at Setsuna's. There was a dried up buttercup from Lita's window-box garden, a bowtie that Darien had worn to one of the Christmas parties (it still smelled like his cologne), and a dual-color eye shadow compact of Michiru's that Rini had found on the table in Michiru and Haruka's apartment.

Rini delicately laid the tube of lipstick in the box, and tears came to her eyes. She pulled open the secret drawer in the bottom of the box. In the drawer were some pieces of paper, and at the bottom, there was a picture of Rini and her mother and father in the future. Rini slowly pulled this picture out of the drawer and looked at it.

"Mama," she whispered. She traced one of her mother's long, beautiful pigtails. She stared at her mother's kind, loving face. Had her mother really been so cruel to Setsuna and the others? "Why would you do this to Luna P, Mama?" Her mother was strong, her mother's power of love had saved them all countless times. So how was this to be explained? Why was this allowed to happen?

Rini set the picture down on her bed near the box, and she took the other papers out of the box and started to look through them. Finally, she found the one she had been looking for. She found the picture of her day at the beach with Setsuna, Hotaru, Darien, Serena, and Amy. Everyone had been so happy and carefree that day. Rini pulled the picture closer to her face. Setsuna looked happy, but there was something in her eyes. Rini stared a moment longer at the picture, trying to figure Setsuna out, then she hopped off the bed and hurried over to her bookshelf. She fingered each book, searching for the right one. Finally, she found what she was looking for: a pink photo album with a caricature of a rabbit on the front. Mina had given it to her one of the time she had gone back to the future.

Rini plopped down on her knees onto the nubby blue carpet and threw the album open. She leafed through the pages and finally found an event at which Setsuna had been present. Setsuna was standing with Michiru and Haruka, and the three of them were looking at Serena trying to argue with Darien. Setsuna was smiling, even laughing. Yet, her eyes still held that same look. What was it? What were Setsuna's eyes trying to say?

-

Darien sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. Bright moonlight poured into his room from his big windows. There was no sleeping for him that night. He couldn't pull himself out of the state of depression that he was slipping silently into. Darien had gone to lunch with Serena, but he had not been able to speak to her. He had only been able to pick at his food and listen to Serena's cheerful voice carrying on about how nice the weather was supposed to be that Friday and how she'd just _love_ to go for a walk in the park.

After lunch, he had gone to Setsuna's apartment. All of her things were gone. Every trace that she had been alive had disappeared with her. Darien went through the rooms like a ghost. His mind rebuked him at every turn.

_What are you doing here, Darien? Are you searching for some little reminder? Are you trying to find some little part of her that you can keep with you forever? Are you looking for something to hold onto, now that your emotions are in a shambles? She's gone, Darien. You get to be a zombie, now. You get to forget all about her. Say goodbye to Setsuna._

Setsuna had more or less told him all of that the previous night. She had done her best to prepare Darien for what lay ahead. He thought he had been ready. Yet, here he was, wandering her apartment as though something of her remained for him. His heart ached horribly. Last, he reached the bedroom, where they had made love together, where he had held her in his arms and known that all was right with the world.

There was something. On the floor, there was a folded piece of paper. His heart missed a beat and he rubbed his eyes once to make sure the letter was real. Darien slowly walked into the room. He bent down, picked up the letter, and straightened. There was something inside the folds, a necklace of some sort. Darien opened the letter, still somewhat disbelieving. Upon opening the letter, he discovered that the object _was_ a necklace. It was a simple sterling silver chain with a beautiful key on the end. Darien's heart skipped a beat again. The necklace was the one he'd given to her so long ago.

He exhaled in a tremulous sigh, then he began to read the letter, clutching the paper so that it wrinkled in his grasp.

_If you get caught with this, we will be in a lot of trouble._

_The necklace has a memory charm on it. If you always wear it, even after Raye tries to put the spell on you, you won't forget. You will harbor ever dream, every memory, and every part of our love._

_However, you know that doing so will require quite a bit of acting. Your heart will hurt with the deep pain and sense of loss, and it may become overwhelming…_

_I do not wish that upon you, Darien. And even if you do not wish to use the charm that the necklace holds, if you cannot pretend for us, please at least wear the necklace as a symbol if not a mnemonic._

_You know there is little chance for us._

_I love you._

She signed no name, but he knew. Darien knew it was hers. He lifted the necklace in his shaking hand and stared at it. This was the key to their memories. This was his one chance not to forget her. However, he feared that he wouldn't be able to pretend to move on. He was afraid he would not be able to pretend he had simply forgotten. In many ways, the spell would be helpful. The spell would ease his pain. This necklace would only dull it.

"Oh, but I love you Setsuna!" He cried. "I love you so much…"

Now he sat, wakeful in his apartment, the necklace hanging around his neck. He had only to wear it during Raye's incantation to save his memories of Setsuna. That was all it would take. It would take a lot to continue loving Serena. It would take all that he had. He wanted so badly to care for Setsuna, to be with Setsuna, to love Setsuna. He had never been so completely torn down the middle between two opposing forces. Serena was his destiny. Serena had been his love for so many years. Serena had saved him more than once. He wouldn't forget Setsuna, but he wouldn't forget Serena. It would take a week before he could forgive her, but he could, and when he did, things would slowly go back to normal. Darien would wear Setsuna's necklace, and he would wait for the time when they could be together.

-

Darien and Raye sat in silence before the fire while they waited for Serena.

"Darien… Is it true?" she asked, sounding almost afraid of the answer.

"It doesn't matter, Raye. This is what Serena wants."

Neither of them spoke again until Serena arrived.

She came in, looking oddly cheery. "Okay. You ready, Darien?" She smiled. He did not reply, just as she had expected.

Darien and Raye stood, and Serena and Raye stood on either side of Darien. Darien closed his eyes. Raye stared at him a moment longer, trying to figure him out, then she closed her eyes and placed her hands together. Then she began the Japanese incantation.

Serena watched him and listened to Raye. The fire blazed. He was still furious with her, but she didn't mind. All of that would be over, and he would belong completely to her.

Darien silently vowed that he would be with Setsuna again in the future. He promised to her that she wouldn't have to be alone anymore. He would go to her, and their love would be fulfilled.

_I promise._


	21. Now that He Knew

(Author's note: I'm so sorry about the extreme delay. It just so happens that every time I sat down to write, I got lost. I owe you everything. Please enjoy the chapter.)

A cigarette jutted out of the corner of his mouth, a stream of smoke drifting lazily toward the ceiling, as he stared down at the photographs scattered across the glass coffee table. He could not really remember when he had decided to take up smoking, but something told him it was four months ago. The truth was something closer to six months. He found that he did not really care. He reached up to take the cigarette out of his mouth and his fingers grazed his chin. He felt the roughness of the five o'clock shadow he was growing, and remembered Serena's nagging voice telling him that he "should really do something about that." He did not feel much like doing anything, anymore.

He pinched the cigarette between his middle finger and thumb, held it over the ashtray on the corner of the table, and tapped it lightly with his pointer finger. With a slowness that seemed almost deliberate, the smoldering ash sifted down into the pile of cigarette butts. For a moment, Darien marveled at how habitual the small act had become, then the cigarette went back into his mouth, his attention went back to the pictures.

There was still one thing that he rather enjoyed doing, and that was taking Rini out on Tuesday afternoons. To the park, to get ice cream, whatever. These were the best times, anymore.

Though, last time, she had said a funny thing, to him.

They were sitting on the pier, Rini eating ice cream and kicking her feet back and forth from off the end of the little pier, both of them enjoying the late afternoon sun and the sound of the boats. Darien sat on the dock next to little Rini, and he thought of all the things that had gone wrong. He thought of how good his life had been, and that was when Rini said,

"Setsuna's eyes."

With much difficulty, Darien asked, "What?" It had been so long since he had heard her name spoken aloud. To him, her name sounded like some beautiful, foreign word that he had heard only in his dreams. Something intangible. The feel of her skin came back to him suddenly, and he shut his eyes.

"Didn't you ever notice, Darien?" Rini asked, not looking at him. "Didn't you ever notice the way her eyes look in the pictures?"

Darien thought a moment, looking down at her. He was stricken by two things: one, that Rini had mentioned Setsuna, and two, that Rini had noticed something so precise as the way someone's eyes looked when they were feigning emotion. He had not answered her, and then she had started going on about a play at school and how she was auditioning for the lead. Darien had tried to listen to her, but he had only been able to give Rini half an ear. Now that he was examining the pictures for himself, he thought that Rini had known that he would only have been able to give her half an ear, and that was why she gone on into mundane conversation.

Now that he saw what she meant.

Setsuna didn't have the same look in every picture, of course. He only saw the truth in her eyes when she was looking at him. Rini had noticed this. Rini was trying to get him to see something. Rini had a hold on something that could present some kind of danger to the way the future went.

Darien lifted one of the photographs of Setsuna by herself. She was looking off, but he had asked her to. He had played at photography, but it had been little more than a simple hobby that never developed into anything serious. Some photographs he'd taken for a portfolio attempt were of Setsuna. He had asked her to be his subject. She had the look in almost every one of those photographs, even when she was smiling a brilliant smile.

There was a knock at the door. Darien looked up a moment. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, holding it between his fingers. "Yeah?"

He heard the knob turn and then heard the door creak open. He said nothing, he only started to pile all the pictures up into his hands and then turned them face down. When he looked up, he saw Rini standing by the small foyer, as though she were afraid to come into his living room.

They looked at each other for a long time.

"What are you thinking?"

Rini walked into the room silently and stood in front of him. He put out his cigarette and held out his arms a little, but she didn't move. He saw that she had her hands clasped tightly around something. Tears stood out in her eyes, but none fell. She held out her hands. He cupped his beneath hers. She gently placed a small object in his hands. He dared to look down and saw a dangly, diamond teardrop earring. He raised his eyes to Rini again.

"I know you have the other one," she whispered. Darien swallowed. Rini stared at him only a moment longer, then she turned around and started to leave.

"Rini," Darien said. She did not listen. Rini left the apartment in silence. Darien stared down at Setsuna's earring. He did have the other one. She left it at Serena's, and its pair hadn't been with it, because Rini had taken the other one. He closed his hand around the earring, then shut his eyes tightly.

…


	22. Make Your Move

_(again and again and again and again I see your face in everything)_

He jolted awake. The key. That was it. That was how he could do it. He could use Rini's key. Then he remembered that the key that Rini stole from Setsuna only took Rini through _time_. It couldn't just take her anywhere anytime. He groaned and sat up, putting his feet over the side of the bed. He thought. What could he do to get to Setsuna?

There wasn't any denying it anymore. He needed to get back to Setsuna as quickly as he could.

Serena suspected nothing of his feelings. He did not even think she had noticed his steady, slow decline. He had enveloped himself in his thoughts of Setsuna, trying to figure things out. In the future, they were to be together, but when was that? How soon would that be? When would be the next time he could hold Setsuna, touch her with hands that tingled for her very touch? When could they finally be together again?

The answer, Darien decided, was not soon enough. He wasn't going to wait around like some poor, sick bastard, further depressing himself with the memories of his love, and further torturing himself by pretending he was so in love with Serena. She was already talking of marriage and wedding plans. He hadn't even asked her to marry him.

But it was destiny. There needn't be any formal engagement, Darien and Serena and damn near everyone else knew how things were expected to go. Serena had been fitted for her dress already. She was choosing her bridesmaids dresses. She was writing up the invitations.

As far as he knew, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka were not on the guest list. He clenched his fist over the key on the chair around his neck.

No. It was time for him to take matters into his own hands. It was time for him to see her.

He looked out the large terrace window beside his bed where the sun was rising over the water outside the city. Was Setsuna watching him from the Gates of Time right this moment? Could she know of his plans? He didn't think so, and that was good. If she knew, she would try to stop him, and he wasn't going to let anyone do that.

Yet, one of the only ways to travel to the Gates of Time was with all the power of the Sailor Scouts joined as one. He wanted a private meeting with Setsuna, and there wasn't a way to achieve that with all the Sailor Scouts there, believing whatever lie he might have managed to fabricate as to why he needed to go to the Gates of Time.

Another option was Luna. He was sure that Luna had some sort of device to allow travel without the use of his Silver Imperium Crystal. But would she allow it to him? No, it was far too risky, even if she would. As he thought about it, he realized that any device Luna might have would probably have some sort of connection with the Silver Imperium Crystals, anyway, defeating his purpose of using something else.

The Silver Imperium Crystal was powerful enough as it was, but if he used his Crystal to go somewhere, Serena would know. Their two Crystals were connected, and Serena and Darien both knew when the other Crystal was in use. If either of them should ever want to do something alone, it would be no matter.

How the hell else could he have jumped on the scene as Tuxedo Mask so many other times to save her buns, literally?

He pulled on some jeans and a button down shirt and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He examined his reflection, pondered shaving, and at the last moment decided against it. Serena had been pestering him about the rugged look, but he was growing to like it. His boss had even complimented it. _So sorry, Serena_, he thought, brushing his teeth. _The stubble stays._

He spat foam into the sink and swallowed some water, then left the tiny bathroom, almost forgetting to flip off the light as he went. For the first time in a long, long while; Darien had some resolve. He had hope. He felt very animated, and he thought that not even the roadblock of not knowing how he was going to get to Setsuna could stop him for long.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Powder_ blue," she corrected him on the name ofacoloured fabric swatchfor the millionth time.

"Light blue is light blue, Serena," Darien replied tiredly. He'd been in good spirits all day, what with the plan he'd thought of that morning. Rather than being suspicious of him, Serena was instead delighted. She thought that the wedding was bringing him out of that depressive funk he'd been in for such a very long time. No matter to him, the less she considered him, the better.

"I just can't be sure. I do love the _style_, though. The girls will just _die_," Serena said, smiling at the photograph of a dress Darien thought was hideous.

_They'll die all right,_ Darien thought, _but not to be wearing it_. It was a characteristically Serena mess of frills and bows, something the other girls may have been willing to wear in junior high school. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last with all the wedding planning.

"That pink is pretty," he said, pointing to one of the color swatches shown for the dress.

"Oh, yes," Serena agreed, nodding. "That Soft Rose looks exactly the color of Rini's pigtails!"

Darien snapped his head up from being bent over the magazines and stared at Serena. She did not even notice, she went on scribbling things down in a Wedding Planner that her mother had bought for her. Rini. Rini stole that one key from Setsuna, perhaps she had stolen another in some other time. A key that allowed you to travel through the present to any spot in the world. Perhaps that was why Rini had given him the earring that day that now seemed so very, very long ago. She was trying to give him a hint!

He needed to see Rini immediately.

"Serena, I almost forgot. I need to meet Carla"–(Darien's boss)—"about that business trip I have coming up," he told her quickly, standing.

She looked up, pausing in mid-write, looking at him. Her expression was slightly surprised, and to his dismay, even a little suspicious. He'd made up the business trip to warn her about his leaving. It would be a good excuse, and he could spend more than just a few hours with Setsuna. Darien had told Serena about it earlier in the day. "You just remembered this meeting?" She asked finally, quizically examining him.

"Yeah, sorry, I've been forgetful lately," he said, moving to get his keys. That much, at least, was true. "I like the pink," he added as an afterthought, heading to the door of the apartment.

"Soft Rose," she said, absentmindedly, watching him as he left.

Serena did not go back to flipping through her magazines right away. Something was going on right under her nose, she was sure of it. How on earth was he so happy today, after being so stupidly depressed for so many months? He had even stopped seeing Rini a few weeks ago, after Rini had gone to his house for a visit. He had never even seemed but half-interested in their wedding. He had always seemed, since Raye's incantation, to be half a world away. Serena wondered exactly how good Raye's stupid incantation really was. Darien could be thinking about something else.

Serena glared darkly at the door. The room was rank with the smell of cigarettes, only adding to her sudden bad humor.

She shifted her weight beneath where she was sitting on her knees at the coffee table and dropped her pencil to the notepad where she had previously been taking notes.

_Nothing_ was going to ruin her goddamned wedding. Especially not Raye's faulty spells. Especially not—

Something sticking out slightly from under the couch caught her attention. It was the corner of a small blank sheet of paper. She took it and found upon lifting it from the hardwood floor that it was a photograph. Slowly, she turned the photograph over.

Setsuna. Serena's hand clenched tensely, crumpling the picture.

_Setsuna._


	23. Take a Look at Me Now

_(how can I just let you walk away, just let you leave without a trace? when I stand here taking every breath for you. you're the only one who really knew me at all)_

(_so take a look at me now)_

Darien pushed through the people on the sidewalk, now nearing a steady run as thoughts of his very last encounter with Rini flew through his mind at an almost blinding speed. There hadn't been any words. She had given him the earring, knowing he would have the other. Hoping he would make the connection.

Rini wanted Setsuna back as badly as he did. It was their love for Setsuna, their bond through her that let Rini feel his sadness, even through Raye's useless incantation. Rini knew. Maybe she had known all along. She had come to give him the earring, to give him a vital clue to getting back to Setsuna. Rini had given him hope, she'd given him something to desire, she'd brought him back.

Darien was _back_, he thought, an almost cheesy grin spreading over his face as he ran, his heart beating in his chest. He'd decided at the last minute _not_ to take the car, and although it was probably almost a twenty minute walk, he found himself running, feeling more alive and himself than he'd felt in literally months. He made the run in almost eleven minutes.

_(I wish I could just make you turn around)_

He jogged up to the front door of Serena's house and rapped on the door a moment. The time it took for Serena's mother to get to the door seemed like an eternity, but who was really trapped in eternity? Setsuna.

_Not for long_.

"Oh, hello, Darien! Rini's been expecting you to play for a long time," Serena's mother greeted him. "Did you and Serena have fun planning?" She grinned at him.

"Never more fun," he lied, smiling.

"Oh, that's good. Did she head off to Lita's?" She asked him, her innocence to everything quite touching him, and he almost couldn't lie to her this time. She let him in.

"I think so," he said, not exactly untruthfully. He would assume she would head off to her next planned event without him there to help with wedding thngs.

"We're all so excited, Darien," Serena's mother beamed. A wrench of guilt tightened around his heart, and his smile was not quite so genuine anymore.

_(there's so much I need to say to you, so many reasons why)_

"It will be great," he somehow managed. She had already turned her back to go to the kitchen, however, sparing her seeing his forced expression.

"Rini's in her room, go ahead and see her," Serena's mother called to him from the kitchen, but Darien was already on his way toward the trapdoor at the end of the hallway. He reached up to grab the string that held the door up, but it slowly came down before he even touched it. He saw Rini's small white hand lowering the ladder to him. He took it and watched her hand slip back up through the hole and heard her footsteps hurrying across the room. He climbed up the ladder with some difficulty; it was almost too small for him to get through.

He made up to her room and looked around. It was so small and comfortable, fit for a little princess. _His_ little princess. He looked to his right and saw that Rini was behind a bookshelf, in a little crook of the room that couldn't be seen unless you went around the bookshelf. Darien moved toward it, ducking. The ceiling was too low. He could see even before he reached her little hiding place that there were pictures on the floor. His heart began to thump loudly in his ears.

"Rini?"

She wasn't facing him. She was sitting on her knees, a bit hunched over, something clasped between her hands in her lap.

He realized that Soft Rose didn't only look like the color of her hair, but matched it perfectly.

"Rini?"

Slowly, she turned her head. She was smiling, but she was also crying. He knelt slowly beside her and put a hand on her tiny shoulder.

"You need to see her, don't you, Daddy?" Rini asked softly.

Darien swallowed, but was only able to nod. She had never called him that before.

"I love her, Luna P," Rini said softly, no longer looking at him, but at the pictures scattered face down on the floor. "I miss her." Rini's smile did not falter. "She always called me Chibiusa."

Again, Darien nodded, unable to make his voice work in his throat.

"Mama pretends that she can't hear me if I ask about them, but I know why. You loved her, didn't you?"

Tears prickled his eyes. "Yes," he whispered.

"You still love her."

"_Yes_."

Rini slowly turned around, object still grasping in one hand, hiding it from his view. She put her hand to his neck, grabbing the chain there that she had probably seen only once or twice before. She pulled it gently away from his neck, lifting it, the long chain sifting through her fingers, until she reached the charm on the end, the beautiful, tiny key. She examined it, and her features seemed to soften.

She let the key drop back to his chest, only outside of his clothes this time.

Slowly, her fist unclenched around the object she was holding, and he saw there a bigger version of the key around his neck.

"This one takes you to the Gates of Time," she explained, looking down at her key, "and nowhere else. I didn't steal this one, Luna P gave it to me so I could come play with her whenever Mama was mad or Daddy was busy. When my Mama was calling for me, Luna P would send me home. But I could always come back. She hears a lot of voices across time, Luna P does. She hears a lot of joy and confusion and greif. I know she hears me crying." Rini looked up at him again with her small smile and crying eyes, eyes so damn like Setsuna's. "I bet she hears your voice, too, sometimes."

Darien found himself reduced to silence yet again.

(_there's so much I need to say to you, so many reasons why)_

Rini took his large hand and put Setsuna's key into it. "You can go see Luna P, now."

"Thank you, Rini."

Rini only smiled in reply. "Don't tell Serena," she warned, still smliing.

"I won't, I promise I won't," he said, nodding in agreement.

As he was about to stand, Rini grabbed his shirt and put the charm back beneath it. Wordlessly, she sat back down on the floor and pulled a coloring book off the bookshelf. "See you later, Darien," she said with honest cheerfullness.

"Bye, Rini," Dairen bid her farewell, and then he went back down the later, slightly bewildered. He put the key in his pocket when he reached the bottom of the stairs, marvelling at what he had in his pocket. "Goodbye!" He called to Serena's mother on the way out the door.

He walked back toward his apartment, almost in a daze. This was it, he had the power to see Setsuna again sitting in his pocket. He _would_ see her again.

_(so take a look at me now. there's just an empty space. there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face)_

He put his hand on the doorknob, but it jerked open before him.

Serena was standing there, looking both angry and shocked at his appearance. She was holding a pink shopping bag with all of her wedding planning supplies in it.

"What are you doing here?" They asked each other in unison, neither of them able to hide their irritation.


	24. Change

"I thought you had to meet your boss."

"I did."

"What are you doing here, then?" Serena pushed past him, moving quickly toward her bedroom. He sighed a moment, then diligently followed.

"I stopped by to see Rini."

"Short meeting?" She began to remove the books and magazines from her pink shopping bag and arrange them on her cluttered desk. "Quickie with Carla?"

"Don't be snide," still, guilty.

"If you just came here to see Rini, say so. I could have come with you. You didn't have to ditch me." Serena thought of the balled up picture in her pocket; the deep eyes, the dark hair, the grim smile. "You didn't have to lie."

His hands were on her shoulders, unsteady. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You don't have any reason to talk to her alone."

"Is it wrong to want to see her by myself?"

"No." She shut her eyes tightly, hands on her desk. "Just suspicious. Just weird. Especially with the whole Carla thing." Serena shrugged him off and turned to face him. "Is something up?"

Darien looked at her for a long time. Her eyes were so big and so blue. He remembered loving her, for all her insecurities. That time seemed so far away, in light of all the new information, new discoveries. Was it wrong, he wondered? Had he been wrong to go to Setsuna, to follow the past? The future? Should he be even considering disrupting time as they knew it?

"I can fix everything," he said, without thinking.

"I didn't realize anything was amiss," flatly. Darkly.

Darien said, "nothing is, not really. I guess I just need some time to get used to this idea. I guess Rini should go back to the future. I guess we should just get everything sorted out." He started to walk away.

"What are you talking about?"

"I need some time. I need to get my head on straight, my thoughts in order."

"You're been acting weird. I guess that's what all this is about, huh? The wedding? Rini still being here?" Her tone was strange, unidentifiable.

"I need some time," he said again, shutting the door behind him.

From the haze, he emerged. Tall, thin, lanky. She surprised him when she did not come to him, did not smile, did not tear up. Did not even move.

"Setsuna."

"You shouldn't be here."

"Rini wanted me to come."

Setsuna looked away. "It's over. I wanted to make certain it was over."

Angrily, he said, "over? Bullshit! What's with this charm, then?!" He snatched it from his neck, threw it across the marble to her.

She frowned. "I had hope."

"Hope?! Hope?!"

"Once!" She glared at him, "but I realize now that things have to change, have to be over!"

"What's happened to you?" he took a few steps toward her, but he did not dare to touch her. She seemed so far away. "What's happened to you in all this time?"

"What do you want from me? Here, I am alone. I can check in every now and again, but I don't live as you do. I have resigned myself to this!"

"I love you, Setsuna!" His voice seemed to echo across ages. "I love you! I came here because I have _not_ forgotten, because I can't forget, no matter what! I refuse to believe that you feel the way you are saying!"

Her eyes closed, he wondered what she could have been thinking. "I want to change everything."

He almost hadn't heard her. He took her limp, cold hand. "Change?"

"Erase all this."

"What do you mean?" Desperation.

"I mean… I want you to go back in time and make it so that you and I never meet, not until later."

Darien gripped her hand tightly, knowing that it hurt her and not caring. "What? _What?_ We can be together! We can fix it all! I don't want Serena, I don't want that future!"

"You're selfish!" She spat, trying to pull her hand away. He didn't not do her the favor of releasing her, only pulled her closer, grabbed her by the head and forced her to look at him, at his eyes.

"Setsuna! We can change what is written!"

"No! What about Serena? What about our friends, the lives they know, they expect? Fix it, fix it!"

"Even if I went back in time," his voice was a low growl, denying his feelings, "Rini would never exist!"

"Then use magic in the future to change the star seeds! Give her mine!"

Darien was holding her so tightly, but she did not struggle. "You're crazy," he whispered to her, "you're crazy with loneliness. You don't know what you're saying—"

"And I guess you like feeling the way you feel?" she said, her voice shards of glass. "I supposed you like it? Give Rini to her, not to me—give her the star seed. Fix this."

"I'll still know! You'll still know!"

"Have Raye perform the incantation again! I don't want this! I don't want this responsibility! I want everything back the way that it was before this mess! Why did you ever have to touch me?!" Setsuna tore away from him, raised her staff.

"I'm sending you back. I'm sending you back and you can think about everything."

"No!" He cried, "listen to me! Nothing will change! Everything will still mean the same!"

"Go to her, you love her. You are going to marry her."

"I haven't bought her a ring."

"Buy one." Tears fell freely from her eyes, but her expression was stone.

"I can't."

"Please."

"I won't."

"Please. Remember what it was to love her before me. Remember, for me."

"You were the first." Light began to blind him. "You were the first!!"

[This is my first chapter in almost two years. I plan to finished. So many things have changed; interests, age, mindset, style of writing. It will be difficult to get back into this. I would like to re-write it, but I've found it's difficult to make fanfiction into fiction. Thank you for your consideration, thank you for appreciating my story. I am going to try to finish it.


	25. To be fair

She stared at herself in the mirror. Awkwardness hung in the air. Lace, frills, large, gathered skirt.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful, Serena, it really is," Amy's voice was soft, her smile small. Serena stared at herself in the three-way mirror, stared at the large poufy dress.

"Mina, where are Lita and Raye?"

"They're, uh," she cast her head over her shoulder, blonde hair slipping behind her back, fluffing Serena's veil. "They're still in the dressing rooms. Guys! Come on!"

Down the hall, out of earshot, Raye called back, "Coming!" She knocked on Lita's door. "Come on, damn it!"

"I told you, I'm not leaving this dressing room. This thing doesn't fit right, and it's just hideous. All these damn fabric flowers and bows and frills. This is like some damn—"

"It's Serena's day, when it's yours, you can make her look ugly. Come on. She's going to be pissed. You know how the slightest little thing sets her off like a rocket, lately."

"I am embarrassed as hell." Lita opened the door, and she was right. She was tall and more athletically built than the others, her muscle bulged a bit at the sleeves, and her smaller breasts didn't fill the front of the dress. Ribbons and curls hung about the dress, so un-Lita-like. It would have, should have, been funny, but Raye couldn't laugh.

They made their way to the woman of the hour, where she stood atop her pedestal in a six-thousand-dollar gown.

"You look stunning, Serena," Lita said with an uncomfortable smile.

"You, too," Serena said, without looking. "Wait until Darien gets a load of this."

"He's not supposed to see until the wedding, silly!" Mina laughed, a bit nervously.

"I want him to see it," Serena said, primping, kissing at the mirror, "I need him to."

There was a silence, and Raye glared at Amy, made a motion toward Serena with her head, willing Amy to speak.

"I can see you in the mirror, Raye," Serena snapped, turned around to face them all and nearly yanking the veil from Mina's hands. Mina stepped away.

"We-ell," Amy began.

"We want you to invite the others back for the wedding." Raye said, defiantly.

"And forever," Lita added, with feeling.

Serena stared at them. Amy blushed.

"What the girls are trying to say is that—"

"What you did wasn't fair, Serena. It's been enough time. We want Michiru and Haruka and Setsuna to come back," from Mina.

They were silent, then, and so was Serena. She turned back to the mirror after some time. Primping, primping.

"Serena," Raye snapped, "let them come back."

"Watch it, Raye," she warned.

Lita, fueled on the fury of how she looked in the god-awful bridesmaid gown said, "I don't know what the hell went on with you and Darien and the three of them, but I'm here to tell you that it's bullshit. You can't just disrupts everyone's life because of your own. We're your friends. We are here to help you, we are all here to help you, but if you're going to be a little brat and basically give a big 'fuck-you' to your friends, by sending them away or by making them look hideous, well, I'm not going to stand for it."

"Me neither," Raye cut in.

"So, that's really how you feel," Serena said icily.

"It wasn't fair, Serena," Amy said, quiet but firm. "It was wrong."

After a moment, "I'll think about it."

Lita stared at her in disbelief, then turned and stalked back to the dressing room, Raye in close pursuit.

"I don't know what her problem is, it's a gorgeous dress," Serena said, nonchalant. "Besides, the bride is supposed to be prettier than the bridesmaids. Doesn't she know that?"

Amy shrugged at Mina.

--

Darien stared at the blue velvet box on the glass coffee table, knowing and hating what was inside. He fought constantly with himself over it. He had purchased it out of duty, out of respect for Setsuna. No, he could not simply forget it all, but he could go along. He could close his eyes and swallow his pride and carry on with the whole damn charade. Responsibilities. He had responsibilities. And in spite of everything, he did want Serena to be happy.

And, maybe he could be, too. Maybe, with time, it would all go away. Setsuna was gone, lost in time; as Michiru and Haruka. Without them, perhaps it would be easier. With enough time, perhaps he would not even remember.

The ring was rather glamorous. Serena's first pick. He had to act the part, didn't he?

But it was Setsuna's hands he was imagining. The glimmer in Setsuna's eyes and getting a hug from Setsuna.

He stared at the box. Hated it for its contents, hated himself for listening to her.

His cell phone, the irritating ring Serena had selected for herself. He picked up, "Hello, Serena."

"Darien, you should come see the dress," she was saying. She sounded vindictive. He could imagine the price tag.

"Sounds nice," he was looking at the box. "Where's the boutique?"

"Finley Avenue, near Dunham Street. It's called Martha's, you can't miss it. There are some things we need to discuss."

"I'll be there," he said. He hung up without another word. How fitting, how perfect. To present the ring with the dress on, and how beautiful she was, and how the thought made him want to gag. He slipped the ring into his pocket and grabbed his keys.

--

He entered with his hands in his pockets. The saleswoman was surprised to see him when he said who he was. "Breaking from tradition?" She asked.

"It's what we do," he said grimly, smiling.

She would have been very pretty if she would have been smiling, he thought, seeing her. He smiled at her, anyway, as though she were the most beautiful woman in the world, inside and out, the kind of beauty you couldn't put a price tag on.

"You can pay, today?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," he muttered, knowing he could and not wanting to.

"Good," she said. "The girls were here earlier, trying on their dresses."

He thought of how ugly the dresses were and almost couldn't not stop himself from cringing. "Did they like them?"

"All except for Lita, she's a bit of a stick in the mud." She shooed away the tailor and looked at him. "I need to ask you something."

"I need to ask you, something, too," he forced himself to say, hand clutching the box in his pocket.

"Me, first. What do you think about asking Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna back? For the wedding, mostly?"

His heart leapt to his throat.


	26. Rapidity

They gazed at each other for some time, Darien fearing his face betrayed his innermost thoughts—Serena's blue eyes boring into him, trying to see it all.

He took a breath and said carefully, "what do you think, Serena? This is your wedding. This is your day."

Her face seemed to soften, but her words had a bit of an edge when she spoke. "It's been some time since the incidents."

"Yes," he agreed. His eyes didn't leave her face. She really was very lovely. His hands began to sweat.

She turned back to the mirror, and he was surprised to see a bit of sadness overtake her features. He realized suddenly that her appearance seemed more aged than ever. All this apparent insanity she'd been exuding was resulting from the fact that she'd been forced to grow up through all that had happened, without wanting to. Without truly growing up. She was trying to fit into some very big heels and didn't quite know how. Marriage. Marriage, really? It was the expected way of things. Eventually, she would be Queen and he, King. She was mechanically trying to operate into the future. Was it time? What did they know what happened between now and then? What was left? Maybe this was all part of it, and she knew it.

"I think we should invite them," she said, finally. She turned back to him, young again.

"So do I. They deserve it. Things can go back to the way they once were. They can have lives, be together. Be with us." Darien's tone was firm, but cautious. He did not want to upset her any further. Their relationship, the shape of things—as delicate as rose petals.

"Fine, then. I will take care of it. Now, wasn't there something you wanted to ask me?"

He was able to smile naturally for the first time in months. "How much is this going to cost?"

Miraculously, she smiled back. Her voice changed—back to the light and airy breeziness he'd ever fallen in love with. "It's pricey, I admit."

"Don't worry, I can take care of it." Darien put on a mock-serious tone, "though I do think we need to look at those bridesmaids' dresses, again."

Serena laughed. Goddamnit, she laughed, and it was contagious. "Maybe you're right. They are a little—extreme."

"I do like the pink, though," and it was easy to admit. He did like the color. He thought he might re-set the ring, have some pink diamonds put into the band.

Serena was smiling, she was radiant. Darien was surprised at the ease with which he slipped back into the dream. Maybe Setsuna had been right. This was the way of things. Serena needed time. She needed him. Perhaps it was time to give up the old entanglement. He knew the truth, they all did—and maybe it needed to be left alone.

"Will you come with me, to the meeting? To invite them back?" Honest curiosity in her voice, but there was a tinge of suspicion.

And with her suspicion, he was again surprised to feel a pang of guilt and regret. Not for loving Setsuna, but for not loving her. The ache at the thought of her face when they went to meet with the so-called outer sailor scouts. The strained smile, the mask of happiness for Serena and Darien's wedding.

"Of course," he said automatically, still trying to hide his inner turmoil.

"We'll go tonight, then. The sooner the better."

"I'll be ready," he lied. He did not remove the ring from his pocket.

"So, I thought about what you all said," Serena went on, pausing to sip her raspberry latte, "and Darien and I are going to ask the others back for the wedding, tonight."

"And forever?" Lita asked quickly.

"Yes," Serena said.

Raye eyed Serena. There was a glow about her that had been absent for longer than she could remember. Something had changed. "I would thank you," she said, "But what you did in the first place was wrong."

"I know," Serena admitted, and the shame on her face was not false, it was not an act. "I was wrong. I'm really sorry. You're my friends, all of you. I let a lot of things get in the way of that."

"A lot of what _you_ wanted," Lita said hotly.

Amy shifted uncomfortably. "That's over, now. Isn't it?"

"Yes," Serena said. "It's all over. I understand if you're still mad." She looked off behind her friends and out the window of the café, not really staring at anything. "I've been away from myself."

"Well, we've missed you," Mina said, smiling. "We're glad you're back."

Lita relaxed. Raye, too, managed a smile.

"There's something else," Serena said, pulling a catalogue out of her purse. "I want you all to pick a dress you like. They have to come from here, and they have to be the same color, but you should all pick a style. This is my one wedding. You're my best friends. I want everything to be perfect."

"Oh, Serena!" Amy's sudden delight made them all laugh, even Serena.

"I'm going to hit the bathroom," Raye said, standing from the table. The others began to sift through the catalogue, and she hoped they wouldn't notice that she went past the bathroom and toward the exit. She bummed her first and only cigarette from a woman outside and took a long, heavy drag.

The others seemed ready to let it all go, to accept Serena's drastic and sudden change with a sincere but strange apology. Her sudden reversion back to her old self. Her sudden desire to bring them back together. To have them share in her special day, rather than observe it. Raye was confused and slightly disturbed by it. What had happened?

She supposed, coughing a bit on the cigarette, that Darien must have come around and been mysteriously lifted from his own dark depths, as well. Things must have been repaired between them.

But, what about the rest of them? How were they expected to simply recover? And what about Rini, in the future?

Raye shivered and put out the cigarette without finishing it. She felt something strange, something she couldn't explain or properly foresee. She went back into the café, putting on a habitual grin, inexplicably dreading the results of Darien and Serena's meeting that night.


End file.
